Beginnings, Middles and Ends
by Zorkaberry Pie
Summary: A collection of one shots that chronicle the backgrounds of the lesser known characters in Teen Titans TV show, both heroes and villains  we might stray into comic book characters, but no promises.  Chapter 10: Kardiak
1. La Pantera

Greetings readers and welcome to Team ZorkaberryPie's second project.

This time we are going to do a series of one shots where we will make up a background story for those lesser known characters in the Teen Titans universe, both heroes and villains. Our 5 favorite Titans will only be having supporting roles in these stories, if any at all.

This time around your writing team will be:

Sir Alwick

Titanfan45

And

TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne

Our two other team members, Novus Ordo Seclorum and still too old for this, might be joining us later. Drop them a line if you wish to encourage them.

If there is a particular character you would like us to address, let us know in a review. Also, unlike with our first project, Ganguro, we will let you know up front who is the author of each story.

Now, before I begin with our first story, there is some news to share! If you saw the new Green Lantern series premier on Friday then you already know this:

The Teen Titans are coming back to Cartoon Network!

Now before you get too excited, they aren't going to be making new episodes. Rather, they are going to be making "shorts" which I understand will be 1 to 2 minutes in length, and they will begin sometime next year. It also looks like the shorts will be drawn entirely in "chibi" style. On the positive side they are using the same voice actors, so Raven has her gravelly monotone and the others have their signature voices as well. They even played an abbreviated short during a commercial break. If you saw it you got to see something … unusual: Raven burped, and it was a bodacious burp that put BB and Cyborg to shame!

Hopefully these shorts are a sign of better things to come!

And now I, TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne present you with …

_**La Pantera**_

It was midday in Parral, Chihuahua. The sun was at its zenith, pummeling the desert city with its heat. The midday siesta hour was in full force and the streets were mostly empty except for the occasional ancient VW bug taxi, which were held together with what appeared to be little more than chewing gum and bailing wire as they sputtered down the street

A dust devil, or as the locals called it, a "tolvanera" was twisting its way down the dusty street, kicking up dirt and other debris in its path on the littered boulevard. The street led into the main plaza, known as Plaza Guillermo Baca, or simply 'el zocalo' as the locals called it. As it is in most northern Mexican towns, el zocalo was flanked by the city hall building, the local church and a small Soriana discount store. What was different about this zocalo was that it also had a small indoor arena on its south side, and not just any indoor arena.

It was a lucha libre arena.

There was a small café built into the structure of the Soriana store and it wasn't very busy when 3 unusual people entered the establishment. Some of the patrons did a double take at the unusual trio while the more polite ones merely glanced at them out of the corners of their eyes, pretending to not notice the young green man, the pale girl with the blue cape and the huge woman wearing a lucha libre mask. The hostess approached them timidly and after exchanging polite pleasantries she led them to a far corner of the restaurant where they could have a modicum of privacy. A waitress quickly appeared and took their orders: Raven ordered the enchiladas suizas, Beast Boy ordered "enfrijoladas" once the waitress assured him that they contained no meat.

"Y para usted?" The waitress asked the tall woman.

Pantha requested two entrees, one was a taco platter and the other a dish made with grilled chicken. The waitress excused herself and dashed off into the kitchen.

"Is Robin sure that the Brotherhood of Evil set up shop here?" Beast Boy asked. "I mean why?"

"Why not?" Raven replied. "It's a perfectly good place. It isn't far from the US border and there is little police presence here. In any case, Robin didn't say they were here, he just sent us to investigate. He thinks they might have ties to the drug cartels."

A few of the restaurant patrons raised their eyebrows upon hearing Raven's words, but no one spoke up. The changeling gave Raven one of his goofy grins before turning his attention to Pantha.

"Did Rob say why he sent you with us, Pantha? Raven and I both speak half decent Spanish, so it's not like we needed an interpreter."

Pantha didn't answer right away. Instead she stared at the marquee on the wrestling venue. The sign identified it as the "Arena Parral" and it announced that night's match. Mil Mascaras Jr. would be facing off against Blue Demon Jr. in the headline match up.

"I grew up here," She announced in a deadpan monotone. "I guess that's why."

Before Pantha could continue an elderly gentleman stopped by their table. He had a quizzical look on his face, and he scrutinized Pantha carefully before addressing her in English.

"Rosa? Rosa Mendez?"

Pantha nodded.

"Si Señor Bernal, soy yo, it's me."

"You've been gone for a long time. I see that it's true, that you are now a Jóven Titán, a Teen Titan. Is there a reason that the three of you are here?"

Pantha shook her head.

"No Mr. Bernal, we are just passing through," She lied to him.

"Will you be coming to the match tonight? Our headliners are from out of town."

"If time permits, I will be there."

The elderly gentleman tipped his hat at the two ladies and went on his way. Once he was out of earshot Raven spoke up.

"So this is your hometown?" Raven asked.

"I can see why you left, this place is a dump," Beast Boy interjected, after which Raven elbowed him in the ribs while giving him one of her signature glares.

Before Beast Boy could protest he waitress returned with their food, which they began to eat in silence.

"These enfri-whatevers are pretty good," Beast Boy remarked.

Raven ignored him and instead focused on Pantha.

"So that's your real name, Rosa Mendez?" She asked.

Pantha nodded.

"As a masked wrestler I keep my identity a secret. We all do, it's part of what being in lucha libre is all about," She remarked as she poked her food with her fork. "but you are my friends and fellow Titans."

She paused.

"I will tell you about who I really am."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The buzzer rang loud and clear, signaling the end of the day at Venustiano Carranza elementary school. The youngsters in the 3rd grade classroom began to chatter with each other as they packed their belongings into their leather satchels, or 'mochilas' as they called them. The class was abuzz with excitement as it was also Friday and the children couldn't even begin to conceal their glee at the prospect of the upcoming school free weekend, everyone except for an unusually tall and muscular girl who sat silently at the back of the classroom. Even though she was only 8 years old she was 5'8" and weighed 150 lbs.

"Rosa, Principal Marquez wants to see you before you leave, your mother is already in his office, so don't even think of ditching, understood?" her teacher boomed at her.

Rosa Mendez did not reply as tears dripped down her cheeks. It wasn't fair; they always picked on her, the other kids. The called her names: La Giganta, La Grandulona, etc. The name calling she could handle, but the other kids always ganged up on her at recess while the teachers looked the other way. She usually stoically bore their abuse, for her mother's sake.

Rosa's father died in a mining accident when she was still an infant and her mother had to raise her by herself. The worst part was when Rosa began to grow bigger than the other children. At first the relatives blew it off, but soon it became obvious that something was very different about Rosa. No one understood what it could be as neither of her parents was particularly tall. The gossip began to make its rounds, and rumors began to fly. Soon people were whispering to each other that Rosa's mother had been unfaithful to her late husband and that freakish Rosa couldn't possibly be his daughter.

One by one family members began to turn their backs on the young widow, leaving her and her young daughter in a financial and emotional lurch. Rosa's mother, Gabriela, had to start working outside the home to support the family once the meager insurance settlement she received for her husband's on the job death was gone. They were difficult years for both of them and Gabriela struggled to bring some semblance of financial stability to her family, but it was tenuous at best and from an early age young Rosa learned to not "rock the boat".

But today it was different! The class bully, Jorge de Hoyos, crossed the line and touched her inappropriately. Had he done that to any of the other girls in class he would have suspended, maybe even expelled from the school. But in her case such abuses were always overlooked.

She beat up the lecherous pipsqueak and was now going to face the consequences. She watched with a heavy heart as her schoolmates left the classroom. Jorge de Hoyos, whose father was the town's mayor, sneered at her as he waltzed out of the classroom. The black eye on his face provided little comfort to her now. Once everyone left she picked herself up and trudged off to the principal's office.

She knocked politely at the door and heard the Mr. Marquez's voice commanding her to enter. As she slowly opened the door the first thing she saw was his stern face. The principal was married to the mayor's sister. That was the thing about living in a small town like Parral: those in charge were all linked and related to each other. Either you were in the "club" or you were not. And Rosa was most definitely in the "not" section.

This wasn't going to be good.

She then saw her mother, who looked like she was in a panic.

"Miss Mendez, please sit down," He ordered her in a stern voice.

Rosa quickly complied as she saw her mother fight back her tears.

"Miss Mendez, you do understand that an education at a public school as good as this one is a privilege, do you not?"

"Yes sir, I do."

"Well, then you understand the position that I am in now. You have become a very disruptive student Miss Mendez, and we simply cannot tolerate that. Effective today you are permanently expelled from this school."

Rosa felt a wave of relief. She wouldn't have to return to the wretched place of torment. Her mother was already talking about sending her to the small school the Pauline nuns ran on the town's west side.

"I understand sir. I am sorry to have caused so much trouble."

The principal rose from his seat and began to pace around the office.

"I am afraid that there will be further consequences to your actions…"

"What? But why?"

He dismissed her protests with a wave of his hand.

"One does not beat up the mayor's son young lady. Effective today your mother is dismissed from her secretarial job at city hall."

"But that's not fair! My mother didn't do anything! Why are you punishing her?"

He turned away from them and looked out the window in his office.

"She gave birth to you, you freak of nature. Is that not enough reason?"

He paused before continuing.

"You are both dismissed. Do not return to these school premises unless you wish to be arrested. Have I made myself clear?"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Beast Boy was livid.

"Where is this Principal Marquez? I wanna give him a piece of my mind!"

Raven placed a calming hand on his arm.

"Beast Boy, don't forget that we are guests in this country. We have to behave ourselves; we do not have legal law enforcer status here like we do at home."

The changeling sighed as he calmed himself down.

"What happened next?" Raven asked in her monotone.

Pantha's expression was vacant as she seemed to be somewhere else. She then snapped back to reality.

"The next three years were very difficult. My mother couldn't pay the rent so we were evicted. An uncle took pity on us and allowed us live in a barn he owned. My mother couldn't find another job and she had to whatever work people would give her, which was few and far between. I had to drop out of school and work odd jobs to help and I went to bed hungry many times."

Beast Boy frowned.

"I don't care if we're guests here Raven, I'm thinking that the Beast should make an appearance at the mayor's office."

Pantha shook her head.

"The mayor and the principal are both dead Beast Boy, they died together in a car accident. There is no one to bring to justice," Pantha replied.

Once again Raven calmed Beast Boy.

"Gar, I'm just as upset hearing about this as you are. Will you please calm down? The last thing I want to do is bail my boyfriend out of a Mexican jail."

Beast Boy snorted.

"Like their stupid jail could hold me."

Raven shook her heads at him before turning back to Pantha.

"So … Rosa … is it OK if I call you that?"

Pantha smiled.

"Of course, you are my friend and colleague Raven."

"Right … so what happened next?"

"Well … just after I turned eleven, I met Mr. Bernal."

_**-( scene break )-**_

On Wednesdays, Rosa worked with her mother selling vegetables they grew in an open air market. It was a month after her eleventh birthday and she was already 6'4" tall and had muscles that most men would envy. She also had a reputation for being hot tempered and most of the inhabitants of Parral would only make fun of the giant tomboy behind her back.

One day at the open air market, Jorge de Hoyos stopped at their stall and picked up a few tomatoes. He handed them to Rosa who weighed them and put them into a paper bag.

"That will be 10 pesos," She told the boy.

Jorge looked at her and grinned. Then with no warning he took off running with the unpaid produce. Rosa immediately gave him chase.

"Rosa! Dejalo! Let him go, it's not worth it!" Her mother shouted at her.

Rosa ignored her mother's command. They needed every peso they could get. She was already outgrowing her current clothes and there was no money to replace them. She picked up the pace as she had Jorge in her line of sight, dodging and leaping over obstacles. He would pay, of that much she was certain.

While he was not big, Jorge was quick on his feet and he ducked into a nearby alley. Rosa was closing in on him and she followed him into the narrow street.

There she found a surprise waiting for her. Seven grown men, all shorter than her but still men were waiting for her. She heard footsteps behind her and saw four more men who blocked her escape route. She balled her fists and gritted her teeth.

"Did you think I forgot about the time you jumped me, puta?" The boy sneered at him.

"You were groping me," She countered.

"Don't tell me you didn't like it. I was doing you a favor, freak. And how did you repay me? Well, it's payback time."

Rosa's mind began to race. On Saturdays, her uncle would let her watch movies with him starring Mexico's most famous wrestler, El Santo. Santo often faced situations like this one, and he always won. She always watched his movies mesmerized, especially the ones were he faced off against his nemesis, the wrestler with the blue mask called Blue Demon. She memorized all of Santo's moves and even practiced them. She stared down her assailants.

How hard could it be?

She soon found out when the eleven men rushed at her while Jorge laughed. The first one jumped on her back and she quickly threw him off. The men continued to rush her and she fended them off with aplomb, until one of them punched her in the gut, knocking the wind out of her. Another kicked her legs out and she fell on her back.

To her credit she did not panic and quickly rolled away, using the techniques Santo once described on TV to quickly recover from getting one's wind knocked out. Within seconds she was back on her feet and she continued to fight. After a few minutes some of the men bowed out but it was far from over. Her nose was bloodied and she was panting from exhaustion, but she would not give up. Her attackers however knew that the tide had turned in their favor and they were closing in for the kill. They calmly circled her and prepared to finish her off when a man who appeared to be in his forties appeared out of nowhere.

"Leave her alone you cowards. Have you no shame?" He thundered at them.

The remaining thugs attacked the man, who fended them off with perfect form. Rosa watched mesmerized as this stranger, using flawless lucha libre techniques vanquished the thugs, who quickly gave up and ran away along with young Jorge de Hoyos. Rosa stared dumbfounded at the man, who produced a clean handkerchief and wiped the blood from her face.

"Tienes el corazon de la pantera. You have the panther's heart young miss."

"Thank you, thank you Mr.?"

"Bernal, Guillermo Bernal at your service. You are very strong and very brave young lady. While your technique isn't very good, I can see that you have talent, that you are a natural. How did you learn to fight?"

Rosa smiled at the man.

"I watched Santo on TV."

Mr. Bernal laughed.

"Well young miss, that is very impressive. But if you would like to learn how to fight the correct way I would be more than happy to teach you. You see, I am the coach for the state team. We are moving the team's headquarters to Parral and we'll hold our matches in the arena on the zocalo."

"Really? You would teach me?"

"Normally, since you are a girl I would not. Lucha libre is a man's sport. But you are special; I can see the potential for greatness in you."

_**-(scene break)-**_

Rosa showed up the next day at the gym on the town's outskirts. It was identified only by a simple sign above the door: "Escuela de Lucha Libre de Parral." She cautiously entered the facility, which reeked of sweat and stale cigarette smoke. A sparring match was in progress between two men, which ended after a few minutes when one of the competitors pinned the other. Both men stood up and listened to Mr. Bernal, who critiqued their match. Once he was done he turned to Rosa.

"Welcome!" He greeted her as he handed her a paper bag that contained a wrestler's outfit. "Now go suit up. You can use the ladies' restroom since we don't have a women's locker room yet."

Rosa nodded and quickly changed into her outfit. She looked at herself in the mirror for a minute before leaving the restroom. She saw Mr. Bernal talking to a very short wrestler.

"Rosa, this is Armando. He will be your first wrestling partner. You do understand that in wrestling there is no guarantee of where hands might touch?"

"Yes sir, I understand."

Mr. Bernal gave the two the signal to begin wrestling. To her immense surprise the diminutive Armando quickly pinned her.

"Do not be discouraged Rosa, but you have much to learn still," Mr. Bernal consoled her.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Cool! He was like Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid," Beast Boy cheered.

"Sort of. Except that he trained me for years, and I didn't have to paint any fences or wax any cars. At first I wasn't allowed to compete because I was a girl. It didn't matter that I was 7 feet tall and could easily beat any of my teammates in sparring matches. Wrestlers from outside our team refused to compete with me because I was a girl. Then on my 15th birthday I was told that two wrestlers would compete with me."

"Who were they?" Raven asked.

Pantha chuckled.

"It turns out that Jorge de Hoyos hired two professional wrestlers from southern Mexico to take me on. They were Rayo De Jalisco and El Huracán Ramirez."

"Whoa, I've heard of those dudes! They're good!"

Pantha nodded.

"Yes Beast Boy, they are very good."

"So what happened?" Raven asked.

Beast Boy smirked. He had seen Raven roll her eyes more than once when the three male Titans watched lucha libre on one of the local Spanish Language channels on the TV back at the Tower (how did she think Beast Boy learned to speak broken Spanish?). And yet here she was eating out of Pantha's hand, clearly curious about the outcome.

"Before I could fight them I realized that I had a problem. I didn't have a luchador name or a mask. I recalled what Mr. Bernal said when he first met me, that I had the heart of a Panther. I wanted to call myself La Pantera, but there was already a wrestler with that name, so I changed it to 'Pantha' and had this very mask designed by a friend."

"So were you worried?" Beast Boy asked.

"I was. As you know, if you lose a challenge fight you have to surrender your mask to your opponent. Having your first match a challenge match is … unusual, you normally don't do that until you are established. But it was my chance to break into the field, so I accepted."

"Where was the match held?" Raven asked.

"I fought them both in that arena," She gestured across the zocalo.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Rosa zipped her gym bag shut. Once again she had to change into her wrestler's outfit in the ladies' room, this time at the arena. She raised her face and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She surveyed her still unmasked face and was grateful that she would be wearing a mask. She was very nervous and didn't want anyone to see her face, which at the moment betrayed her lack of self confidence.

She slipped her mask over her head, pulling her long hair out through two holes in the back before zipping it shut. There was a knock on the door, which meant one thing: it was time.

Rosa took a deep breath and exited the improvised locker room. Mr. Bernal was the one who knocked and he was waiting for her. His face betrayed no concern whatsoever. She wished she felt the way he looked. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"It's time Rosa. Remember … the panther's heart."

She nodded and they walked to the ringside. The arena was small; it seated at most three thousand people. That didn't mean that she couldn't feel the energy in the building, it practically vibrated as the crowd expressed their impatience, waiting for the match to begin.

The emcee took his place in the middle of the ring and the ubiquitous microphone descended from the dark recesses of the arena's ceiling. He took it in his hand and addressed the crowd in the way wrestling emcees around the world always did: bombastically and with great flamboyance.

He first announced that it would be a melee type match, which in theory meant that while all three wrestlers would be fighting at the same time that there were no teams. It would be each man and woman for him or herself. Mr. Bernal had already warned her that they would gang up on her first and then after defeating her they fight each other for the win.

The emcee first introduced El Huracán Ramirez. The crowd went wild with their cheering. It wasn't often that wrestlers of his stature came to Parral and they were thrilled. Next he introduced El Rayo de Jalisco, who also received the fans' star struck adulation.

Now it was Rosa's turn. She ducked under the ring's roped perimeter and before she was standing upright the booing began.

"Go home girl, lucha libre is for men!" Several spectators shouted.

"I can't wait to see you get your butt kicked," A familiar voice shouted from the ringside.

Rosa turned towards the offending voice. It was him; it was Jorge de Hoyos, who was seated with his parents and siblings. Rosa frowned at her pipsqueak nemesis, knowing that even though she could easily beat him to a pulp that it would be a short lived victory since his father rule the town.

The booing continued until the emcee cleared his throat over the mike. Once the crowed piped down he stepped out of the ring and was replaced by the referee, who called the three wrestlers over and gave them the standard talk about fighting cleanly, etc. He then sent each wrestler to a corner.

Rosa towered over her opponents but she recalled her first encounter in the ring with Armando. Size wasn't everything. Speed, technique and above all cunning were what won wrestling matches and these two men had those qualities in spades. With no warning the bell rang, announcing the beginning of the match.

"Remember what we discussed," Mr. Bernal reminded her.

Rosa remembered well. Under no circumstance should she allow both men to engage her, if that happened she would lose.

Ramirez lunged at her first, and in a swift judo like motion she deflected him away and he landed on his back with a dull thud, quickly getting back on his feet as Jalisco swooped in. He put her in a headlock while Ramirez came in for the kill. Rosa spun around. She did not dislodge Jalisco from around her neck but did use his swaying legs as a club and hit Ramirez, knocking him out of the ring. To her immense delight he landed on Jorge de Hoyos, who was screaming bloody murder.

Now it was one on one. El Rayo de Jalisco was a very skilled fighter and Rosa had her hands full at first. At one point he almost pinned her down, and in a display of near super human strength she broke free and turned the tables on him. The surprised wrestler reacted far too late and she pinned him down in an escape proof lock. The referee began his countdown and after 10 seconds he announced that Rosa was the winner.

The crowd was furious and many began to throw their unfinished drinks into the ring and Rosa was pelted with beer and other objects while the booing intensified. Rosa faced the crowd and made a defiant gesture with her arm. The crowd booed even louder but it didn't matter. Pantha was now born.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Did you get their masks?" Raven queried her.

"Since they allowed me to fight them, giving me my first break, I did not demand that they unmask themselves. After that I was allowed to compete in the men's circuit. I won the national title just before I turned 16."

"You must have been very proud," Raven remarked.

"I was. Santo himself gave me the champion's belt. I thought that was the best day of my life. The money was good too and my mother never had to work again until she passed away 2 years ago. Of course who would have thought back then that someday I would become a Teen Titan, a super hero?"

The waitress cleared their dishes. Raven asked for the check and paid for the meal.

"We must hurry with our investigation this afternoon," Pantha remarked as she rose from her seat.

"Why?" Raven replied.

"Why?" Pantha chuckled. "The wrestling matches start at 7PM tonight, we cannot miss them."

_**The End **_

Author's note: The wrestlers mentioned in this story are real lucha libre guys from Mexico.


	2. Birth of the Adonis

**Birth of the Adonis**

A fanfic by Sir Alwick

Adam was just about past the side street, the one with the chicken place where the group usually hung out. He would have liked to avoid it entirely, but a part of him (his feet perhaps) was fed up with taking the long way home. He decided to take his chances.

"Hey, Finch! Where do you think you're going?"

Damn.

With his head still bowed, eyes following the sidewalk, he ignored them the best he could. If he kept walking, made like he didn't even hear them, there was still a chance that the group's natural laziness would keep them where they were.

"Hey, pee wee, I'm talking to you."

Footsteps and the feeling of large figures on fast approach. He felt a sudden surge of terror rise up in his chest. He slowed and sighed. It was apparently far less work to chase him down the street than it was to attend class. From a bunch of monkey-brained goons, he should have expected no less.

Slouching his shoulders he turned and looked to them from over his shoulder. Them, the mass of baggy denim and black death metal t-shirts, heading his way, smirking and snickering like a pack of hyenas. "Yeah, what?" he said, his steps slowing, his voice lush with hopelessness.

In a matter of seconds they surrounded him, blocking all exits. A trio of giant stone pillars made of ignorant flesh. The two, Ray and Tony darted in front of him, while the one, Tommy Dugan, blocked him from behind. If he didn't know any better he'd say they were getting bigger by the day. Dumber too. The entire time they had approached, Adam had done his best to wear a look of defiance on his face, but now with the group baring down on him keeping up the charade had become impossible. His face fell and his lip curled downward as he felt Tommy lift the backpack from his shoulders.

"The backpack," thought Adam. "Not again."

From Adam's right came their leader: a monstrous 12th grader named Kenny Francis. Ah, Mr. Francis. With any luck he may actually graduate this year. Then at least he'd be some McDonald managers problem instead of Adams. Kenny was the largest student to ever blunder through the halls of P.S. 109, even before he was held back two times. He worked out, or at least worked out the parts that he thought mattered, mainly his arms and chest, although muscular would not have been the word to describe him. No, simply "big" was far more appropriate. He was tall, 6ft at least. His skull was huge and gave one the impression that he were wearing a football helmet under his skin. Add to that his massive arms, bulbous torso, a low IQ and bad temper, and you had a nightmare worthy of Phobeter.

"What's your hurry?" Kenny questioned, slowing to a casual stroll, stopping just to Adam's right. The way he spoke, his voice deep and booming, it was drenched in a sort of smugness that could only come from being in such a dominant position.

Adam's nose upturned as the behemoth neared. The smell. That god awful smell. "Do you ever shower?" It was the question he most wanted to ask of Mr. Francis, but of course didn't.

Behind him, Adam could already hear the zipper of his backpack being unzipped. He closed his eyes and sighed again, knowing what was to follow. The flapping of paper and the clattering of pencils and pens, the thumping of textbooks; the entire contents of his backpack resonated in his ears as it fell and landed in a scattered mess on the sidewalk.

"What's this?" he heard what sounded like Tommy ask aloud. "Advanced din..dinam.."

Adam recognized the title immediately. Letting the stupid monkey babble it out for himself would have been smarter, but he supposed he wasn't feeling very smart that day. Showing off how much more he knew than them was one of the few moments of superiority in which he could indulge himself when dealing with his detractors. He relished it, and so couldn't resist.

"Advanced Dynamics and Elevated Theories in Mechanical Engineering," spoke Adam through an annoyed and perturbed sigh.

The boy didn't say a word, but his thoughts were clear to anyone with the minimalist of foresight. He was pissed. Adam heard the smack of the textbook as it hit the ground and very quickly felt a brief pressure on his shoulder, Tommy's firm hand giving him a forceful shove that sent him stumbling forward, nearly landing onto his face.

The group laughed and Adam righted himself just in time to find Kenny baring down on him. A deep feeling of helplessness overcame him, his self-righteousness disappeared and his fear returned. He cast his eyes to the ground.

"Look," said Adam, his voice cracking slightly. "Can we please just skip today? Just this once?"

Kenny smiled, the gap in his front teeth winking in the sunlight. "But Finch," he said. "How do you expect to get any better if you don't practice? Trust me, this is for your own good." And with that he slowly extended his hand.

That massive, ugly, baseball-mitt-like palm. Just like the day before and the day before that and the day before that, once again it was here, right in front of his face. Big and powerful. A good ten inches from middle finger tip to palm at least, each digit thick and firm like a roll of coins. At such a distance he could easily make out every little mark and blemish, the wart on Frank's thumb, the cut on his pinky finger, the various lines and swirls. If he knew anything about palm reading he could have read his future. As it was he could only see his own: Pain. Lots and lots of pain.

"Come on," hissed Kenny, his tone low and demanding.

Unable to help himself, Adam's bottom lip quivered. The tears were practically at his cheeks as he raised his hand, bringing his own palm to meet Kenny's. Small and bony, fingers made of licorice candy, his hand practically disappeared as the boy's massive digits closed around the back of his hand.

"Ready?"

Adam offered no reply and Kenny didn't wait for one. In a flash the larger boy rotated his wrist so that all knuckles faced the ground, and then began lifting. Pain sensations, burning like needles made of fire, stabbed at Adam's joints and traveled up his arms. It hurt so much. It always did. An involuntary wail escaped his throat as he quickly fell to his knees.

"Stop! Stop! Mercy!" Adam cried as he grabbed his forearms in a desperate attempt to halt the pain. "Please let me go!"

Kenny laughed but did not release the hold. From all around there came the sound of laughter as the other boys watched with glee. Pointing and elbowing, laughing and taunting. Pointing and snickering.

Again Adam begged the larger boy to stop and again his pleas went unanswered. The pressure in his wrist intensified and his tear laced words soon turned into nothing more than elongated vowel sounds.

"Say mercy," said Kenny."

"Mercy," wailed Adam.

"Say mercy."

"Mercymercy!"

The pain continued for a few seconds longer and then all at once subsided. Resting on his knees, Adam hugged his hand to his chest, cradling it like a newborn. Tears still poured from his eyes and his breathing had been reduced to short ragged gasps. Every attempt to calm himself, to stem the tide and reestablish some sense of dignity was met with failure. Just like clockwork, from all around him came the taunts. Cruel derogatory barbs about his size, strength, even his sexuality. Yes, they loved that one. Even the ones who didn't physically torture him loved that one. The goons stuck around for a while longer, watched and laughed as he nursed his injured hand while doing his best to return the spilled contents of his backpack to their rightful place. Then they left, leaving him to his tears, as well as an undeniable and ever growing anger.

...

The remainder of the walk home was a slow deliberate one. He after all needed time for his eyes to dry. He arrived home, made his way up the stone steps of his apartment building and went inside. Arriving at the top floor, he could already hear them. The thumping and jabbering. The barbarians were already in the midst of their post school ritual. Good. It meant they'd be too busy to acknowledge him.

Unlocking the lock on the loft apartment, Adam made his way inside. There was a flash of brown and out of the corner of his eye he spied a football making its way across the living room. It was caught by Jake and a mere moment later was sent sailing back to Jeremy. The two of them wore their jerseys and were already in the midst of a heated discussion about details and specifics concerning last Sunday's "big game" between Baltimore and Delaware (Deleware or Denver, he neither knew nor cared). Still throwing the ball, they grunted about names and statistics, periodically stopping to brag about what chicks they bagged in their twin, fire engine red, T-bird convertibles. Adam didn't understand any of it, nor did he really want to. Let the ogre's have their fun. It need not concern him. He wanted simply to go peacefully to his room, watch some TV and maybe lose himself in a manga or two. He hardly thought it too much to ask.

Attempting to sneak his way past, he was nearly home free when he heard, "Hey pit stain think fast!" Crediting his stupidity in actually looking to instinct and involuntary action was his only way of forgiving himself. He turned and suddenly there was fire in his nose and tears once again in his eyes. The football bounced from his face and rolled across the floor.

"Jake! What the hell!" Adam shrieked. His hand went to his nose.

"Ooh, personal foul," laughed Jeremy.

Ignoring the two snickering behemoths Adam turned and quickly made for his room. Pulling his fingers away he found them sticky with fresh blood. He moaned and, as his two guffawing brothers continued about their business, headed for the bathroom.

"Barbarians..." muttered Adam, bringing a damp cloth to his nose.

Ogres. Neanderthals. Cro Magnons. Leviathans. No matter what label he put to them, it was always the same.

"Big bodies, small brains."

It was a notion that to him was inexcusable and yet somehow he came to live in a world where such was not only the norm but was also celebrated.

Ignorance and brute strength lorded over intelligence. Real scientific discoveries were yawned at and deemed boring by the masses while the ability to "throw a ball really far" was touted as outstanding and garnered praise and adulation beyond measure, multimillion dollar contracts and big fat advertising deals.

How many Nobel prize winning physicists ever make it to the covers of cereal boxes?

And then there were the Teen Titans, the so-called protectors of the city. The ignorant masses loved him, thought they were heroes, but all Adam saw when he looked at them were more meatheads flexing their muscles, pounding their chests and throwing their weight around. One needn't look any further than the shrine they'd built for themselves on the bay. They were looking down their noses at everyone. How could he be the only one to see it?

Uncivilized men, leftovers from some ancient time, celebrated for what amounted to little more than genetics and arbitrary physical activities. It as absurd. He hated them. Hated all of them. And yet what he hated most was that, when he thought of the accolades, the money, the respect, he realized that deep, deep down, he would have given anything to be one of them.

...

"Come on! Keep your guard up."

Adam grunted as once again the bright red glove leapt up and bopped him in his still wounded nose. Covering his face he did his best to turn away from the blows as his opponent continued to circle him, jabbing and poking him where ever he found an opening.

"Come on Adam. Get aggressive."

"I'm trying."

"Well, try harder."

"Dad..."

His father did this from time to time, took time out of his busy schedule to remember he had a third son. The one that wasn't interested in sports, girls or cars. He never said it, but he hardly had to. Adam knew. One son too many.

"We should do something together," the old, retired amateur boxer would say on occasion. "Just you and me." The words would lack conviction, and if the invitation was turned down the old fighter's relief would be palpable. Adam couldn't fault him for trying, but honestly, he would rather he didin't.

"Come on Adam! Man up!" his father barked, again giving him a light but still too hard bop to the midsection. "Man up!"

Gritting his teeth Adam reared back to deliver a punch, but was instead met with yet another quick bop to his nose. He yelped and instantly covered up again.

"Don't telegraph your punches so much. I could see that coming a mile away."

Adam looked down at the floor to his father's sock covered feet. He considered stomping on his toes as hard as he could but another poke stole his concentration. He then gave up on fighting back entirely. Still covering up the best he could he simply decided to wait. Wait and hope for him to stop.

It took a while, but the fact that the fight was indeed over finally registered. Arms dropping to his sides, his father turned away and began ripping at the Velcro on his training gloves. "Fine," he lamented bitterly. "But you gotta learn this stuff sometime, Adam. It's the only way you're going to get those punks to stop messing with you."

"Dad, there's four of them." It was a credible excuse, though honestly even if there were only one it would still have hardly mattered. "Despite what you may think, no amount of you smacking me in the face is going to change that."

Anger suddenly flashed in the fighter's eyes as he gave Adam a firm smack in the shoulders. He stared hard and pointed a long, calloused finger in his face. "Don't you get smart with me, pal."

A part of him wanted to say, "It wouldn't be very hard," but instead he held silent.

An awkward silence passed between the two, one that was hardly a stranger to their household. Adam removed his gloves. Leaving them on the floor he was just about to leave when-

"Hey, me and your brothers are going to be driving into Gotham tomorrow for the big game. You're...uh...free to come with us if you want."

"No thanks."

"Okay. Well...we'll probably be gone a few days. There's a couple sports history museums we want to hit while where there. Will you be okay by yourself?"

"Yeah," he answered. "I'll be fine."

Try not to sound too happy.

...

He knocked on the door. After a few minutes of waiting garnered no reply he knocked again. Still nothing. Rolling his eyes and arching his eyebrows he bent over and flipped the bottom right corner of the doormat. Finding the key hidden beneath he unlocked the door and made his way inside.

Inside, Adam found the room the same way he found it most days, that was to say a total mess. Stacks of books littered the floor. Everywhere there were tables set up, housing tangles of wires and circuit boards. Bits of metal scattered the floor, nuts, bolts and washers. In the corner of the living room and along the wall were various computer terminals, some working, some not. Adam had always been a neat freak, and yet here amongst the debris of science and discovery, he felt more at home than anywhere else.

From the bedroom down the hall there came a loud crashing and the sound of angry German muttering.

"Doc?"

There was silence and then a thick Austrian accent asked, "Who's there?"

"It's me."

"Mr. Chalmers? I-I-I'm sorry I don't have the rent right now but if you come back-"

"It's Adam, Doc."

There was the sound of footsteps and Alexander Bauer, the man known simply as "Doc" to his friends (which really only included Adam) appeared in the doorway. A man in his mid-fifties, his hair was minimal, mostly congregating just above his neck, leaving the top of his head bare. He wore a baggy tan sweater and his dress pants were off-white. Through his thick bushy moustache he smiled at Adam, his weathered eyes twinkling in delight.

"Adam, my boy," he said. "How good of you to stop by."

"Stop by? Doc, you called me and asked me to come."

"I did? Oh yes I did. I've got something to show you. Now where did I...oh yes it's in the kitchen. Come, come."

They were just about down the hall and in the kitchen when suddenly Adam found the Doc quickly holding a hand to him, halting his movement, and saying "Oh wait, wait."

"What?"

"Well, I need to cover it up. I want to unveil it. Things are always more impressive if you...you know... whip it out...as it were."

Adam couldn't help but laugh as the Doc disappeared around the corner. A few seconds later he informed him that it was okay to enter.

Coming around the corner, he found the old engineer standing on the far side of the kitchen, a hand behind his back. The table to his left was covered by a white sheet, swelled in the center by an unseen structure.

"Ready?" said the Doc with a smirk.

Adam nodded and Doc swiftly pulled the sheet from the table.

There was confusion for only a moment as Adam's mind began to process what exactly he was seeing. But as the image settled in his eyes, he soon felt the familiar buzz of excitement and intrigue rising up in his chest, and a single word made its way to his lips.

"Whoa."

It was an arm. But not just any arm. A robot arm. A huge, mechanical, robotic arm. Held in place by a series of straps and locks, it rose up from the table like the stem of a flower, its long fingers being the petals, as it reached toward the ceiling. It shined metallic silver in the light of the kitchen. The lack of any real color gave it a barebones, but nevertheless efficient aesthetic.

Adam was already speechless, but the Doc was far from finished. From the same table the old man retrieved a maroon colored vest. Tubes of wire and bits of metal covered it, running its length like an exoskeleton. There were what looked like batteries, semiconductors and diodes attached to the chest and back. A long tube ran from the center of the vest down the Doc's right arm, meeting what appeared to be the makings of a glove with metal fingers.

"Now watch," said The Doc with a smirk. Turning to the table he seemed to fiddle with something on the back of the arm with his ungloved hand. He then flicked a switch on his chest. There was a hum and suddenly the arm sprang to life. Like a creature wondering where it was it began rotating in place, first one way then the other. It bowed and wiggled its fingers, clenched and unclenched its fist.

Adam was absolutely amazed by the display, and it didn't take him long to realize he was missing something. The Doc. The Doc was controlling it. Every movement the old man made with his gloved hand, the arm echoed in real time without a hint of delay.

"It follows my every movement," said The Doc as if to confirm what was being seen. "Right down to the most minute detail."

Adam's mind reeled. His mouth hung slack. "It's like a Gundam," he whispered.

He had read the Japanese books almost religiously for most of his life. Something about the ability to climb into a giant body, something bigger and stronger, and have it be an extension of your very will. It enticed him in such a way that nothing else did. To Adam, the Gundam was a thing of pure beauty, the Adonis of scientific advancement. For so long it had been little more than a fantasy, and now here it was right in front of him.

"Amazing."

"Good to hear you think so."

"You made this?"

"Yes. Well..the original concepts were devised with an old colleague of mine, Silas Stone. That was some time ago. But things happened and...well, I would rather not go into it. But this new design is mine." The Doc gestured to the countertop across from the table, the one to Adam's rear. "The blueprints and schematics are right over there if you'd care to have a look."

With great interest, Adam studied them, the various sketches and notes. Eyes wide, he focused. The photographic memory was not a myth like some dullards thought. Adam was living proof. Weeks from now, he would still be able to call forth every detail without a hint of hesitation.

As Adam finished, Doc's voice caused his attention to shift. "I have an investors meeting coming up next Friday," the old man said. "And with any luck..." Simply allowing his sentence to trail off, he smiled and crossed his fingers. The arm did the same. Pulling a cloth from his pocket he absentmindedly reached for his glasses with his gloved hand, and swiftly shattered the glass and bent the frames between his thumb and finger, startling not just Adam but himself as well.

The Doc chuckled. He gestured to the glove and said, "The instruments still need some fine tuning."

Adam didn't say a word, only stared at the busted glasses as The Doc set them down on the table and powered down his device. For a moment, everything else seemed to disappear. Blackness covered the borders of his vision. The only light in the tunnel was that of the glasses and the glove that formed them.

"Adam?"

Hearing his name he snapped back to reality. "Yeah," he said.

The Doc appeared worried. "Are you okay?"

The question seemed silly, until Adam tasted the blood on his lips and realized his nose had started bleeding again. The Doc didn't wait for his response. He quickly handed him a damp cloth and instructed him to tilt his head back.

"Was it those bullies again?"

"My brother actually."

The Doc let out a morose sigh. "Do not fear, my boy. I was like you once, if you can believe that. I know how difficult it can be being the little guy. But things do get better. You're a brilliant young man. I know this. And one day the world will know it too, and will treasure it."

It was a speech he had heard before. He never believed it. He still didn't believe it. But coming from Doc, coming from someone he so respected and admired, it almost sounded possible.

Smiling The Doc turned to get some ice from the freezer, and once again Adam's gaze fell on the glove. It held there even as the old man re-covered the piece with the sheet. Held there as his thoughts began to churn.

...

He was hot and uncomfortable, but it was a price he was willing to pay. They were there waiting for him this time. Standing on the corner, talking amongst themselves, they eventually took notice of him as he made his way down the street. They were laughing before he was even in ear shot.

"What's with the jacket, Finch?" laughed Kenny. "You cold?"

"Well, I must be or I wouldn't be wearing it," answered Adam. He spat his words with as much venom as he could, and yet he could not entirely keep his nervousness from at least partially manifesting in his voice.

"You ready for your medicine?"

Adam only nodded. He dropped his backpack to the sidewalk and raised his hand. Fighting down his fear, he stared hard into Kenny's eyes.

"Oooh, looks like someone's wearing their big boy pants today," snickered Kenny.

Again Adam remained silent. Only held his gloved hand up in the air, and waited for the bully to make his move. And a few moments later he did. Their fingers clasped, and Kenny was all smiles.

And in an instant everything changed.

There was a snap and suddenly Kenny was down on his knees, his wrist awkardly bent. His voice cracked as he cried out, a staccato bark like a wounded seal. Another audible snap and now the boy was screaming.

The sounds. The lovely, lovely sounds. The tears and anguish. Adam was enjoying every minute of it.

As the glove beneath the glove did his bidding he smiled to himself. So this was what it felt like, to be dominant, in control. To have someone at your mercy, know they couldn't do anything to stop you. He could understand now why his tomentors did what they did.

"Come on, Francis," he barked, doing the best impression he could of Kenny's, until then, deep and manly voice. "Man up. Show me what you got, pipsqueak."

Kenny only wailed in response.

"You got something to say to me, shrimp?"

With tears pouring down his fat cheeks, Kenny began to babble the only word he thought would end his suffering. "Muh-muh-mercy!" he cried. "Mercy! Mercy! Please!"

All at once Adam's arrogant smile disappeared. And suddenly he could feel nothing but a deep, burning hatred.

"This is for your own good."

There was a loud pop and the back of Kenny's hand met his forearm.

The boy was sobbing loudly when Adam released him, letting him drop to the ground like a sack of garbage. None of the others made any move against him as he retrieved his backpack and briskly made his way past them.

As he walked his smile returned to his face and stayed there the entire way home.

Stepping through the front door of the now empty apartment (his dad and brothers had left early that morning) Adam breathed deep, a look of pure contentment on his face. After removing his jacket and exterior gloves, he undid The Doc's vest and carefully set it and the glove down on the coffee table. With any luck he'd be able to sneak the device back to its place in Doc's apartment without the old man noticing. And if he were caught well...it was still worth it. The look on Kenny's face, all the pain and anguish he'd inspired thrown back at him, it was glorious. Well worth the guilt he felt in going behind Doc's back.

Noticing the blinking light on the answering machine, Adam walked over and pressed play. And his smile disappeared.

...

The Doc had no next of kin. Regardless it still somewhat humbled Adam to find out that he was listed as Doc's emergency contact. Standing outside the hospital room, gazing in through the window, he hardly recognized the man who had been so good to him over the years.

He recalled once again what the police had told him. Doc was apparently on his way home from the grocery store when it happened. A couple of goons looking for a quick buck wanted his wallet. He tried to reason with them, but they were having none of it. And when he didn't move fast enough they simply took it by force. The Doc wasn't very strong. One blow would have been enough. But they didn't stop there. Even when he was lying on the ground they didn't stop. Not even when he lost consciousness did they stop. It took someone walking by the alley for them to finally leave him, and by then the damage, as they say, was done.

The doctors told him that he might never regain consciousness. And if he did, there was no denying it: he would never again be as he was. The kind, gentle, brilliant man that Adam had known since eighth grade. Taken by a couple of lumbering knuckle-draggers with barely enough intelligence to tie their shoes.

It hardly seemed fair.

...

Night had fallen and for a long time, Adam had done nothing but sit in his father's arm chair in the living room, the TV remote in one hand and one of his Gundam figurines in the other. He had left the hospital without saying a word. Sitting in the dark of the living room, staring at the glowing TV screen portraying the sweating, screaming, muscle-bound protagonist of an old 80s action flick he came to only one conclusion. As much as he hated to admit it, as much as it made him sick to his stomach, he realized his father had been right. The Doc had been wrong. There was no place for people like them. The only thing to do was devolve.

What happened to The Doc would not happen to him. And settling his gaze on the figure in his hand, he got an idea.

...

_Three days later._

"He's gonna pay. He's gonna pay for this."

With sticks and bats and chains in hand, Kenny (with fresh cast on his wrist) and his goons approached the apartment building.

"As soon as he shows his face out that door, jump him. Whatever he did last time let's not give him the chance to do it again," he said as he and his group ducked behind the front steps.

For a few minutes they waited, every so often commenting on "How badly" they were going to get the shrimp/geek/fag when he showed his face. It was around the ten minute mark when they suddenly became aware of an audible thumping noise.

Kenny was the first to notice. "Hey, you guys hear that?" he said, stepping hesitantly out of his hiding place.

One by one the rest of the group followed. The thumping was getting louder. They began to question one another. "What is that? Is there construction going on somewhere around here? Maybe it's an earthquake."

All theories abruptly stopped as the front door, along with huge chunks of wall, came exploding from its hinges. The boys stumbled, some of them leapt for safety, but as the dust cleared all eyes fell on the now gaping doorway. And none could believe what they saw.

It had taken him three nights with no sleep to make his masterpiece. He'd gutted every piece of electrical equipment in the house, even going to far as to tear wiring out of the walls. He'd drained his and his brother's bank accounts, maxed out his dad's credit cards, and the rest he stole and/or salvaged (his brother's T-bird's had been a big help in constructing the body). At long last, he was finished.

He had become a thing of power and beauty. He was the ultimate, he was everything desirable in the world. Adam Finch? Adam Finch was gone. Now there was only what he was: Adonis.

Catching eyes with the boys on the street Adonis pounded his massive fists together and flexed his newfound muscle.

"Hey, small fries," he growled, his voice as deep as he could make it. "How about a little mercy?"

**End**


	3. Mumbo

"Mumbo" by titanfan45

I do not own the Teen Titans.

A/N: This one shot picks up during the last scenes in the TV episode titled: "Bunny Raven."

His plan was about to come to fruition. He had just proudly introduced the soon to be eliminated Teen Titans, and his audience resonded with a gasp. Mumbo quickly turned and stared unbelievingly at what he saw, empty cages, all five of them. He still couldn't believe it and moved closer to take another look. Still, he could only see an empty cage. As he opened the cage door to take an even closer look, he heard Raven shout "Allakazam!" at the top of her lungs while lashing out at Mumbo's unprotected face with her foot.

Mumbo flew back and out of his magical top hat and landed flat on his behind. He recovered his senses just in time to witness the whirlwind coming from his hat and delivering his former prisoners back into the real world. To his dismay, the Titans were free from his trap and quite able to defend themselves once again. The aqua hued magician turned and fled only to have his feet knocked out from under him by a well placed bird-a-rang thrown by the Boy Wonder.

The now defeated Mumbo found himself still in possession of the source of his magic, his top hat. Just as he was thinking of what his next move would be, he felt his hat being taken from him by Raven's powers. He tried to get at Raven to retrieve his hat, but was stopped by the Police officers who had responded to the original bank robbery. Now standing before Raven without his hat or his powers, Mumbo had no choice but to listen as she stated in her well known monotone: 'We're gonna make sure you don't have any encore performances."

Sounding like a whining child, Mumbo said to the expressionless Raven who now held in his hat:

"But...but...My magic! How did you escape?"

Raven replied, "I had an even better trick up my sleeve."

In spite of his defeat, Mumbo was now very impressed by Raven's ability to get her friends out of what would have been their final act by performing as she called it "an even better trick." Now seeing Raven as an equal in the field of magic, Mumbo said to her: "I gotta know. Come on Kid. Tell me what you did."

Raven replied, "A magician never reveals her secrets." Then in a rare moment of showing off, the gray Titan twirled his hat and placed it upon her head and winked. Mumbo would have sworn he heard muffled guffaws coming from all three of the male Titans.

As Mumbo was led away by the police, those words uttered by Raven stung the thieving magician to his very core. He had been on the cusp of completely defeating, humiliating, and permanently eliminating the Teen Titans in one fell swoop only to be utterly beaten at the last moment. How could he, a master of magic and slight of hand, have lost to a group of teenagers using only some old paint to create in mere moments perfect camouflage for each of them? They had used no magic, just their imaginations and wits and no small amount of artistic talent. He had figured out what materials were used and he understood perfectly the mechanics of what they had done, but could not grasp how they had managed to pull it off while in locked cages with precious little time in which to actually do the work involved to make the escape possible. It was a grand trick, worthy of Houdini himself. Mumbo, The Grand Showman of Villainy ached to find out how they did it, but Raven had let it be known that she would never reveal how she and her friend's had pulled it off.

As the defeated magician thought things through he came to realize that clearly, he had seriously underestimated the Teen Titans, it was some small comfort to know that he was not the first to have done so. Still, Mumbo felt insulted by Raven as he had asked her as an equal to share her secret only to be rebuffed. Mumbo felt that she should have been delighted to have been acknowledged by one as accomplished in the magical field as himself. He had to assume that she simply was too young and too full of herself to realize the great honor that he had bestowed upon her by such an acknowledgement. He sadly shook his head and said "Kids."

As Mumbo was led away from the crime scene and was placed in the back of the Jump City Police Paddy Wagon, the effects of the magic hat were now wearing off. Gone was the aqua skin and tuxedo of Mumbo the magician, in it's place was the pale and small thin aging man who's real name was Claude Jenkins.

As was often the case, and Claude Jenkins was no exception,criminals often reflect upon their lives and the paths they had taken to end up in police custody. His thoughts went back to a time in his life where he he was just a regular guy with normal desires and needs. He was mild mannered, quiet and meek. He was a person who was generous to a fault with the few friends he had managed to make. His main flaw was that he was so easy to overlook. In High School he had become accustomed to being interrupted mid sentence by other students wishing to speak to the person he was speaking to, and having that person forget about him to the point of walking away from him completely immersed in conversation. A conversation that did not involve him.

College was much the same and since he had few friends and very little social life, Claude became a brilliant Accountant. Still, even as brilliant as he was with numbers, he simply lacked any charisma and never came to his employer's mind as they handed out raises or promotions. He was alright with not being promoted because he never really sought the limelight but he did resent not getting the money that he deserved for all of his hard work.

Then came the day that had been long in coming. Claude had yet again passed over for a promotion. A young assistant to Claude and whom he had invested many hours of teaching them everything he had learned since he had graduated from college, had been noticed by the upper management. This young person had became a brilliant accountant because of Claude's tutelage, and yet; the assistant was promoted along with a huge raise in pay while Claude didn't even receive as much as a free lunch for all of his efforts. That day Claude finally had enough and went to see the owner of the company that he worked for to give him a piece of his mind. Never in his wildest dreams could he imagine how that meeting would turn out.

He could see the events in his mind as clearly as if he were watching a movie...

Infuriated beyond anything he had ever felt in his life, Claude stomped into the owner's office and slammed the door. The man behind the desk looked up at him and calmly motioned for him to have a seat.

"I don't want to take a seat! I want to know why I have been passed over yet again! You've just promoted another of my assistants! Why? I trained them both! Everything you saw in them was because I had trained them! Why won't you promote me?" Raged the infuriated Jenkins. The owner's response was simply to point at a movie screen that had just been automatically lowered.

On the screen appeared a middle aged man wearing a mask and sitting on what appeared to be a throne of some sort. From the way the camera faced this man, the irate accountant could not really see in any detail what the man really looked like.

Now somewhat rattled, Jenkins sat down and timidly inquired "Who are you?

A deep voice resonated from the sound system, "That is not important at the moment, Jenkins. What is important is this; what do you really want from life?"

Jenkins instantly relized that the man on the screen was the real owner of the company. He quickly recovered his rage and jumped up from the chair and shouted "I want what's due me! I have worked and worked very hard for no recognition and very little money! I want to be recognized for the talent that I've used to keep track of this company's assets and for the training I've provided for my former assistants who are now my immediate superiors!"

The man on the screen steepled his fingers and calmly asked, "Am I to take it then, that you are dissatisfied with how you have been treated here?"

For some reason, Jenkins now felt very tired and defeated. He knew he was about to be terminated and so he decided to get some things off his chest before he was fired.

Jenkins sighed and replied in a soft voice, "You asked what I wanted out of life. Honestly, I'd like to live on the edge a bit. My whole life has been led from the safety of the sidelines. I've always worked in the background unnoticed and unappreciated. Today's promotion of my latest assistant and his huge raise just sent me to my breaking point. I want to be noticed, I want money, jewels, gold, anything of value so that I can finally live life as I see fitting for a man of my talent. I am going to find a way to finally get that lifestyle I so deserve, and I can't get it here. I'm through wasting my life in this place."

Jenkins turned and was about to leave when the voice from the screen stopped him. "I appreciate your candor Jenkins. I am also going to be candid with you, sit down."

Shrugging his shoulders, he sat down and faced the screen. The camera panned in on the man on the screen, and, although his features were still not clearly seen, Jenkins was able to discern that one of the man's eyes seemed to be covered.

The man on the screen calmly stated, "You have been passed over repeatedly by my orders. You see, I have always seen in you what is now just finally coming to the surface; want, envy, and even greed. I knew that if you were pushed hard enough, your true nature would show itself and that you would react as you did today. Now that you've finally come to realize your disatisfaction with your life, I want to make you an offer of employment of a different nature. I have interests in other fields of commerce and I believe I can place you in control of one of my ventures that as yet are unfilled. I know of your interest in magical tricks and I know of your carefully hidden skill in showmanship."

In a panic filled voice, the now frightened accountant squeaked, "But how? How could you possibly know these things? I've never told anyone! Not even my family!"

Chuckling the deep voice from the screen replied, "I make it my business to know everything about my employees Jenkins. Now relax. I want you to try on the top hat my assistant is bringing over to you."

Claude now believed the man on the screen was clearly out of his mind for asking him to try on a top hat of all things. Deciding to humor the man on the screen, he stood and took the hat from the assistant and looked it over carefully. All he saw was a plain black silken top hat. He knew it was a waste of time but since he was very likely already out of a job and had nothing on his calendar for the rest of the day he placed the hat upon his head. Feeling a bit silly, he glanced at a nearby mirror and nearly fainted at what he now saw. Gone was the aging small pale man and in his place stood a tall confident looking man with aqua colored skin in a tuxedo and a mask covering his eyes.

With his mouth agape, Jenkins turned back to the screen and asked, "What's happened to me?"

"This is who you really are Jenkins, the man you always dreamed of being. No doubt you are wondering how the hat works. It's quite simple really. The hat is actually a controllable pocket dimension where you can bend reality to your will. The only limit for it's use is your imagination. I know that you are in fact a very quick learner and that you already have some ideas for it's use. Am I correct, Jenkins?"

"Smiling broadly the now tall tuxedoed man replied, "I certainly do, but first; what is it that you want in return?"

"You are indeed a fast learner. Excellent! In return for the use of the hat, I want you to move to Jump City and simply help yourself to whatever catches your eye."

Jenkins nodded his consent and then said, "There's always a catch. What is it?"

The man on the screen nodded in approval and replied, "Good Jenkins! Very good! There are in fact two catches. The first is that I would like a financial contribution once a month, say, 35% of your take?"

Jenkins was quick to agree saying, "Done. What's the second catch?"

The voice coming from the screen turned deadly serious and answered, "There is a group of five teenage dogooders that call themselves the Teen Titans. Their leader has an obsession with finding me. You will encounter them. Count on it. When you do, you are to occupy their attention as often and for as long as possible. This will divert their attention from me. They will defeat you at first but don't worry. When you have formulated your next scheme the hat will be ready, waiting, and available to you no matter where you're being held."

Jenkins grinned and nearly giddy with anticipation as he quipped, "A get out of jail free card?"

"The very best one there is Jenkins. You'll need a name for yourself, have you any in mind?"

Jenkins smiled and answered his new benefactor; "Yes, I do. I am now 'Mumbo' and my catch phrase is going to be 'Mumbo Jumbo!' How's that?"

"Catchy. I like it. Get going Mumbo, I expect big things from you, do not fail me. Oh, and Jenkins, do not think to use the hat against me. I have retained access to it's abilities that allow me to override any attempt that you would try against me. Believe me, such an attempt would not go well for you." With that, the picture on the screen faded and Mumbo was shown out.

In the first few weeks of his new life, Mumbo couldn't help but wonder why such a man as his benefactor would give away such a device as the hat he now controlled. As he gained experience in heisting money jewels and gold, Mumbo came to realize the brilliance of the man. While the Titans and Police were busy with the likes of an evil, wise cracking magician, his benefactor was free to plot and carry out the work needed to set up his own grandiose schemes.

The paddy wagon carrying Claude Jenkins pulled into the prison compound . A guard opened the rear door and called impatiently to vehicle's holding cell's lone occupant "Quit day dreaming Jenkins and come on out."

Claude Jenkins smiled at the guard as he exited the vehicle.

The officer frowned at him and said with all of the authority he could muster, "We're onto you now 'Mumbo.' We know your tricks and we'll be keeping a real close eye on you."

Claude Jenkins smiled and smugly replied, "Do your very best, I'll prove to this city once again that this place can't hold Mumbo!


	4. Dr Light's Journal

The Journal of Arthur Light

_**July 20, 1969**_

I just saw the most fantastic spectacle on the TV. Neil Armstrong climbed down a ladder and was the first man to step on the surface of the moon. What a great day for science! Unfortunately I had to ride my bicycle 5 miles down the road to the Johnson's to watch this historic event. You would think that my parents would be able to understand that this was a monumental event, but you don't know my parents, do you Journal?

My parents grow cotton here in the outskirts of Lubbock, Texas. They aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, and they decided that they would rather watch some preacher on TV than experience something as epic as the moon landing. They say that there's no point in getting all worked up about this, as it's clearly a fake. They say they know that it's staged because Pastor Bob told the congregation that scientists are liars and pawns of the Devil. How did he come to this conclusion? Very simple: scientists say that the Earth and the Moon are billions of years old, and we all know that the world was made just 6000 years old. Pastor Bob says it's impossible to go to the moon anyway, and that the whole Apollo project is nothing more than a big Hollywood production.

For the longest time I wondered how they could possibly be my parents? Even though I'm only 7 years old I'm already far more intelligent than they are. Well, let me tell you, Journal, that I found the answer.

It turns out that I'm adopted.

_**April 17, 1970**_

We're driving back home from Austin. I'm sitting in the truck's bed while mom and dad are up front in the cab, which is just fine with me. I just won the Texas State Science Fair. My entry was an enhanced solar panel that is 200% more efficient than anything else out there. At first my parents weren't very supportive about this, being that it was "science". I'll tell you what changed their tune, Journal: money. A company in California paid us $200,000 for the rights to my new design, and we paid off the mortgage and all our other debts with that money. Now dad is suddenly proud of me and my parents were more than happy to drive us to Austin for the Science Fair.

The press in Austin even gave me a nickname: The Pharaoh of Photons. I'm also going off to Texas A&M next year on a full ride scholarship. I can't wait to get out of Lubbock, even if College Station isn't much bigger, but hey, it's a college town!

_**November 20, 1973**_

Hello Journal, I know it's been months since I've paid you a visit, but here I am. I've been very busy as next semester I'm going off to MIT to work on my PhD. Life has simply been a whirlwind lately as my final semester at A&M is winding down. It's amazing how quickly I've outgrown this place. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the school has done for me. It was basically free. But now I'm leaving the minor leagues behind and I'm off to the majors in Boston. I've already been working on getting rid of that hayseed accent I have. Professor Dowd says that I already sound "east coast", which, believe me, is a relief. That last thing I want people there to think of me is that I'm some kind of bumpkin who fell off the turnip truck!

Speaking of motor vehicles, the oil embargo is really hitting our nation in the gut. It's pathetic that we are so dependent on a 19th century energy source. It simply flabbergasts me that we aren't even trying to find an alternative.

Well, let me tell you something Journal: I am going to make petroleum, at least as a fuel, obsolete. There are so many other better uses for it anyway: plastics and fertilizers come to mind.

Mom and Dad don't get it. They think I've become, get a load of this, a "granola munching hippie". I guess it doesn't bother dad that they might have to ration gasoline if the embargo doesn't end soon. I suppose that since Texxon is paying him a generous lease to drill on his land he likes the status quo. I should have made some commercially viable inventions to sell so he could buy himself another Cadillac, never mind that won't be able to drive it every day if they have to ration fuel. Go figure.

But I promise you Journal, I will make sure that we are never, ever again at the mercy of foreign oil suppliers, even if the Texxon Oil Company doesn't approve.

_**May 26, 1976**_

Well Journal, I did it! I was awarded my PhD! My thesis was on how to efficiently collect stray photons and convert them into pure energy. I'm talking about a 99% efficiency rating. This is going to change the world.

There are some details that remain to be worked out, and I will do this during my post doctoral work. I've been offered a position as an adjunct professor here at MIT. This of course means I'll be teaching untalented undergrads, who will ending up teaching high school themselves, but that's a small price to pay as I'll be able to continue my research unencumbered. I am going to change the world, I just know it!

Of course oil is once again flowing freely and the embargo is all but forgotten. What hasn't gone away is the smog and the dependency on capricious foreign suppliers. But I, Dr. Arthur Light will change all that.

_**September 16, 1978**_

I received a telegram today from my Aunt Eunice in Lubbock. Mom and Dad were killed today in a car accident. They were coming back from Wednesday Church when a drunk in a pickup truck hit them head on at high speed. She told me that they died instantly.

I know that I have often written of them to you in harsh tones … but now … I don't know what to say. It's true, I was always ashamed of them, and now that they're both gone … maybe I was fool; anyway, I'm flying out to Lubbock tomorrow. Also, my post doc work is almost complete, and I'm taking my photon collector public after I build a functional prototype.

_**July 12, 1979**_

The day has arrived Journal! My prototype is complete and it works great! It fits in a suitcase and it can power 100 houses without any fuel! Using decayed photons and reusing their residual energy by performing a quantum plane shift using a 4 dimensional crystal is how I do it!

The timing for this could not be better! The Shah was overthrown in Iran and there is talk of another oil embargo. I'm going to spend the next few months tweaking my power generator. I can't wait to see the looks on the faces of those oil executives when I demo it to them.

_**November 19, 1979**_

I have great news Journal! I showed it to the management at Texxon and guess what? They've agreed to buy it from me! And they're going to pay me $50,000,000, setup a research facility in Houston where I'll be in charge of R&D! I only wish my parents were alive to see this.

_**April 29, 1980**_

I have been double crossed. Texxon is not going to manufacture my generator, which they now own. I foolishly signed a no-compete agreement so now I can't offer my services to any other company or person.

I should have seen this coming. There's no way they can make the same amount of money selling generators as selling oil. I was a fool! I allowed myself to be bamboozled by these creeps and their shysters.

It doesn't matter, I will not be defeated! The no compete clause in my contract expires in 5 years. I'll use my money to perform purely academic research on my own. I already have an idea for a better generator, and when it's ready I'll sell it on my own. I'll show them!

_**August 12, 1985**_

Well Journal, oil is cheap again, at least for now. My no compete clause had expired and I'm actually trying to start my own company: "Dr. Light Energy". My 50 million ran out already and I had to sell the family farm, which was being leased, to raise some seed money for the company. I have also been able to raise some investor cash, but this time I learned my lesson: I will always retain control over the company and my invention (which is far superior to the original generator).

Now I need to raise more cash so we can begin to manufacture them. Wish me luck! Investors are a greedy bunch of jerks. They want control of everything.

_**December 12, 1985**_

I don't believe this! Just as I was about to secure a $100 million investment some obscure professor at a University whose name I won't even dignify by writing it here wrote a paper criticizing my reactor. He claimed that my new reactor design is unstable and unsafe. His analysis was clearly flawed so I prepared an airtight rebuttal. As the rebuttal was being published more critical papers began to appear, all written by second rate nobodies. There is no doubt in my mind that Texxon paid them off.

But worst of all, my investor backed out. We are now dead in the water and I'm going to have to lay off most of my staff. Whatever happened to building a better mousetrap?

One thing is certain; I won't roll over and play dead. If there is anyone who will buy this technology, it's the military.

_**March 24, 1986**_

Dear Journal, I don't know where to begin.

I am now a fugitive from the law.

Three nights ago I was working alone in the lab after my small staff had already gone home. We were facing a deadline for a demonstration for the Army. I was working on the "manacles" as we call it in the lab. Basically these are gloves that allow one to fire bursts of pure energy. I had just fine tuned them and was about to go outside to the "shooting range" to try them out on a pile of cinderblocks when I heard a sound.

This surprised me as there is always a night watchman at the front desk and the premise's perimeter was supposed to be secure.

The sound was not a false alarm as a man big enough to be a linebacker walked into the lab. Judging from his body language I could tell that this was not a social call.

He was carrying a large caliber pistol which he aimed at me. I raised my hands in front of me, in a vain attempt to persuade him to not shoot me. He grinned as he took aim at me. His words still echo in my ears: "Lights out, Doc."

There was no doubt left in my mind: he intended to murder me. I then had the classical fight or flight reaction. The "manacles" at that moment were fully charged and activated. He never saw it coming and his charbroiled body was dead before he hit the ground.

I killed a man!

This wasn't supposed to happen! I was going to save the world.

Several sheriffs' deputies showed up. Much to my surprise, after I explained to them what happened, they arrested me! My office manager posted the bail bond and I was released from the county jail.

My mind was reeling at this point. Texxon not only sent a goon to murder me, they had the local police paid off. It is fortunate that I was bailed out quickly from the county jail. Something tells me that I would not have survived the night had I stayed there any longer.

The next day I found out that our Pentagon contract was cancelled. And we would soon run out of money. And then I found out that I was going to stand trial for allegedly murdering that hitman and I would probably be convicted and maybe even sentenced to death. This is Texas after all.

My first move was to lay off the staff as I was going to need to save every penny I had to mount my defense. I spoke that afternoon with my attorney, who candidly told me that "it wasn't looking good" for me.

At that point I snapped. The nation that I was trying to help, even save from itself, had turned its back on me. I knew that I had to take care of myself, and that meant that I couldn't rely on anyone.

I returned to my now deserted lab and got to work. By 4 AM the suit was finished. As I put the bulky prototype outfit on it suddenly hit me: Arthur Light was no more. I was now Dr. Light, a villain, unjustly hounded by the law.

After testing the suit I loaded whatever gear and equipment I could fit into a van and drove off to a remote property that was technically owned by someone else (who was deceased) but which I used frequently to perform tests away from prying eyes. After setting up shop I quickly realized that this "hideout" was only temporary in nature and that if I stayed here I would soon be caught.

I would need something more secure, a place where I could continue my research, my expensive research, in total privacy and anonymity. But I had almost no money left.

So I robbed my first bank.

_**Dec 4, 1986**_

I found the perfect place for my hideout. It's in a small town in New Mexico which will remain anonymous.

_**May 16, 1992**_

I am no longer able to remain underground as the Justice League has decided that I am a threat to society that merits their attention.

What they don't know is that I've been saving my newest technology for them.

They will find it "illuminating" to say the least.

_**June 5, 1999**_

The Justice League has upped the ante with me. At first they sent their third tier members after me. After I repeatedly vanquished those incompetents they sent the next tier of heroes after me. These ones I had heard of. They posed more of a challenge but in the end they too were ineffectual.

Now I'm facing their top guns: Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Green Lantern, The Flash, etc.

All I ever wanted to do was help the world, to make it a better place with clean and safe energy that was virtually free. And they thanked me by declaring me a criminal. And why? Because I was going to upset some fat cats' gravy train. It's true: Those with the gold make the rules.

This is why I initially had no qualms about stealing money from the super rich and the banks they own. I still wanted to share my invention with the world. But as time went by I got to where I am today: I'm now a member of the Injustice League. That's right; my new "compadres" are none other than: Lex Luthor, Black Manta, Catwoman, Felix Faust, the Penguin, Sinestro and Agamemno.

I really had no other choice, on my own I would never survive against the Justice League. There really is safety in numbers, and collectively we are a credible opposition to them.

My anger at the injustice that I have suffered has festered within me, growing like a cancer until it has consumed me. Integrity calls out for justice, and if I can't obtain it through the conventional channels, then I will make my own. What the spandex clad do-gooders seldom understand is that more often than not they are the ones who create us, the so called villains. It is ironic, I am considered the villain, yet who robs the average motorist at the gas pump?

_**January 7, 2003**_

I suppose that it was inevitable, but it has finally happened: I've been captured by the Justice League.

_**January 24, 2003**_

Apparently my captors have been reading my Journal, and rather than send me to jail they are going to rehabilitate me.

_**February 4, 2003**_

I was bound to some sort of chair that vaguely resembles a dentist's chair. Zatanna entered the room and explained to me that she was going to use her "magical" powers to erase all of my criminal memories. I wasn't given a choice, they simply decided to do it (and I'm the villain?).

To make a long story short, she botched it and in the process she damaged my mind. I've lost a substantial portion of my intellect. I haven't been reduced to a dribbling idiot, but there is no doubt, the candle no longer burns as brightly as it once did.

_**March 1, 2003**_

For some reason, they decided to release me in an insipid town called Jump City. I suppose that they felt guilty after what they did to me. I quickly found a place for my lair, but now there is a question of money: I don't have any.

_**March 14, 2003**_

I was in the process of robbing an armored car when 5 spandex clad … children confronted me. For some reason the Justice League allowed me to keep my Mark VII suit and it came in very handy as the children … ok they were teenagers … who called themselves the Teen Titans, were no match for me.

That is until I encountered HER.

She calls herself Raven and she speaks in a gravelly monotone. Journal, this girl is bad news. Then again, I hesitate over even calling her a girl. She is a monster, the very spawn of hell. At first I thought she was a run of the mill sorceress with a very long unlocking key: Azarath Metrion Zinthos.

But I was wrong. I thought I had defeated her with a few photon blasts. The girl is tough, as those shots would have killed a normal human; they certainly did a number on that hitman in Houston. She was lying on the ground, defeated, telling me to 'stay away' and that was when she "transformed". I had never seen anything so horrid in my life. She suddenly grew in stature and spoke in a guttural, otherworldly voice; just hearing it made my skin crawl. But that was just the beginning. Ice cold tentacles emerged from her body and before I knew what happened I was dragged into a void. I believe that day I had a taste of Hell. There was no life, no color and no light in that place. I could literally feel the life being sucked out of me and I would have no doubt perished had Robin not intervened and saved me from his demonic teammate.

This … thing … is to be feared and avoided at all costs.

_**June 27, 2004**_

I've been out of prison for 6 months now (I escaped of course). I needed an easy way to obtain source of power and found it on an oil platform that was unfortunately visible from Titans Tower.

As the previous time we encountered each other the Titans were no match for me, that is until I heard her voice. She simply said "Remember me?"

I most certainly did remember the gray monster.

_**February 16, 2005**_

Sometimes I just don't understand why I have such bad luck.

I went as far away as possible from Jump City, to a place inside the Arctic Circle to collect the energy from the Aurora Borealis. Things were going swimmingly until the Titans showed up unannounced.

This time I was ready for them, until they destroyed my energy focusing crystal. Then we all fell into a bizarre underground primeval world. It was there that I discovered a young girl who could transform her body at will into a flawless and indestructible crystal. She was just what I needed to complement my aurora machine. With her my newest generator would be able to produce unheard of levels of energy.

And it worked beautifully. This time not even the gray demoness could stop me, I was invincible. If it hadn't been for the monosyllabic Neanderthal …

_**June 14,**____**2006**_

The most remarkable thing happened to me today.

I escaped from prison just two weeks ago and today I witnessed a fight between Green Lantern and Flash against Slade.

I don't know if it was some combination of the Lantern's green light and the Flash's hyper speed or if it was something Slade did, but both my memories and full mental faculties suddenly returned. The experience was akin to being in a dark room when the lights were suddenly turned on.

_**August 15, 2006**_

Between my recovered intellect and the fact that all the Titans were busy engaging the Brotherhood of Evil it was easy to rob my choice of banks.

Today however, the Titans were back in town.

And I was ready for them.

And it wasn't just the five of them, they had all of their friends with them, not that it mattered.

They tried to sneak up on me as I was robbing a bank. They probably thought that I would roll over and surrender to them, like I did in the past. Raven even had the gall of saying: "_He's __totally__ gonna freak this time."_ … little did she know…

Robin, that self satisfied prick, demanded that I surrender. He is even more insufferable than Raven.

"We all know how this is going to end, Dr. Light, let's just do this the easy way."

The funny thing is, I agreed with him, just not in the way that he was expecting. I intended to do it the 'easy way', and I most certainly did. Just not the easy way for them.

The five original Titans attacked me, with the green fool leading the charge after morphing into Tyrannosaurus Rex. He no doubt felt unstoppable in that that form. Unfortunately for him, he was the first one to taste the new me, the fully restored Dr. Light.

I hit him with my new enhanced photonic cannon. Even with his thick saurian skin he bellowed in pain and collapsed, returning to his human form, still smoldering while he remained unconscious. What was even more interesting was that the gray monster called his name, unable to mask the terror and grief from her voice as she ran to his side. Who would have thought that she actually cared about anyone? That she was capable of feeling love? She even began to weep while she used her powers to heal him. She cast a vicious glare in my direction and I smirked in reply. I'm not afraid of her anymore, as I now know what her weakness is.

Robin of course reacted as he always does, with false bravado. "You'll pay for that!" he thundered at me. As if.

Robin summoned his second tier Titans. I will admit, it was a challenge as there were so many of them. I of course methodically culled the herd, disabling them one by one: Kid Flash, Argent, Jericho, Pantha, Hot Spot. Soon only one third of them were left. Cyborg, Robin and the Tamaranian had murder in their eyes, but they were powerless against me.

That was when the Batwing arrived. Batman and Batgirl emerged from the aircraft and the Dark Knight ordered me to surrender to him. To the surprise of the remaining Titans I did surrender to Batman, who muttered something about taking me to Arkham Asylum. The poor Titans didn't even protest, they were relieved to be rid of me.

The best part of it all is that I fooled the Titans with my departure. You see Journal, it wasn't the Dark Knight who came to collect me … it was Slade and his daughter Ravager. I hired Slade in advance to do this in case the Titans returned. Oh, I suppose I could have destroyed them once and for all back there, but where would the fun be in that? I intend to make them suffer, the way they made me suffer; but they need to be alive to suffer, right?. From now on I will be the one who has the upper hand.

Oh, and before I forget to tell you Journal, I sent Raven a letter, congratulating her on saving Beast Boy's life, along with a reminder that if she ever messed with me again … that I would kill him. I won't be worrying about her anymore.

Until next time, Journal. It's a new dawn. Dr. Light is back!


	5. Chapter 5

Whispers on the wind fall like teardrops from the stars,

And drop unto the ground like those cast out from above,

In a world of velvet lies and artificial scars,

The greatest sacrifice I've made is giving up on love.

The night has swallowed up my heart and left me to the cold,

Where the serpents slither across my skin as I upon mankind,

Harvesting iniquity where once goodwill was sewed,

Holding on to what I've lost and what I'll never find.

Condemned by those who know not of the depths and where they lead;

By those who understand neither abundance nor dearth;

Who only face mortality out of listlessness or need:

I'll set your souls ablaze and show you just what life is worth.


	6. Beast Boy's Deal

A Changeling's Fancy

Ok, we promised stories about the other characters in the show, but right now our muses are AWOL. So I decided to take this piece, which was originally published as chapter 1 in "What Beast Boy Really Wants", cleaned it up a bit, and am posting it here for your amusement.

Merry Christmas!

_**-( scene break )-**_

It was a quiet summer afternoon in the Tower. The villains were conspicuous by their absence and Jump City was at peace. Other than Slade and the Hive-5, most of the Titans' usual opponents were safely locked away in the local state prison, which is just how Raven liked it. She was curled up on the crescent shaped couch with one of her huge ancient looking books. She could literally feel the muscles in her body relax as she turned the page and sipped her herbal tea.

It just didn't get any better than this, she thought to herself.

Then she heard the sliding doors open. Nothing good lasts forever, she reminded herself as she shut her book, knowing that reading would now be an exercise in futility as she heard a pair of familiar sounding footsteps approach from behind.

As expected, Beast Boy leaped over the couch and landed next to her. He wagged his eyebrows at his girlfriend of one month. She acknowledged his presence with a nod and glanced at her book, debating whether or not to reopen it.

They were both 19 years old now, and Robin, who was getting ready to make his transition into Nightwing, had reminded his team more than once that they would soon be dropping the word 'Teen' from the team's name.

Beast Boy was being his usual restless self, and Raven knew that he wanted her attention, which she had to admit to herself had become difficult to withhold as the green changeling had bloomed into maturity rather nicely. She even thought his physique rivaled Robin's. But now was not the time to ogle her beau. She did have a reputation to preserve after all.

"What do you want Gar?"

He gave her one of his winning smiles.

"Oh, you know."

"No, I don't." She lied.

"We talked about it last night on our date…"

Raven glared at him.

"Absolutely not! Out of the question! You know better than to ask me that again!"

The changeling feigned a hurt look.

"Oh, c'mon Raven, Please? Pretty please?" He implored her.

"I already told you no, Garfield. I don't want to do that."

Ouch! She only called him Garfield when she was peeved with him. He realized that this was going to take some delicate tip toeing to achieve his objective while avoiding outright disaster.

"But it'll be fun! C'mon, you'll like it. Please?"

Raven frowned. She knew him all too well. Much like a pit bull, once he latched onto something he wouldn't let go, and past experience had taught her that simply ignoring him wouldn't work. He was persistent, if anything.

"Look, I know this means a lot to you Gar, but I'm just not ready to take this step."

"How can you be so sure? Lots of girls do it and they love it."

Raven sighed. He didn't give up easily; she had to give him credit for that.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not like most girls."

That almost worked, as he drew back with a troubled expression on his face. Then she saw from his look that he had another idea. Raven cursed internally. In many ways they complemented each other. She was the epitome of methodical, while he excelled in improvising, and right now she was secretly wishing that he didn't have that talent.

"But Rae, even Star and Robin did it, and it was even before they became engaged."

Raven was quick with a counter attack.

"That was their choice Gar. Just because they liked it and had a good time doesn't mean that we will. Why can't you be patient and wait until I'm ready? Is it really too much to ask?"

Beastboy decided to pull out the big guns. Getting Raven to agree to become his girlfriend had been no small feat. It had taken perseverance and tenacity to wear her down, until he got her to finally agree to be his girlfriend. And now it was time to take the next step. He anticipated some pushback from her; it really wasn't unexpected given what he was asking her, dark Raven of the Titans. So he got down on one knee and did his best impression of the 'face' he could do without morphing into a kitten.

"Rae, it would mean so much to me! Please, pretty please!"

Raven felt her heart flutter, and cursed silently about how well he knew her weaknesses. She bit her lower lip and resolved to stay strong. It was true, he was cute, even handsome, not that she would ever tell him. She resolved to not budge on this important issue. He was being impulsive, without giving any thought to the possible consequences of taking this step, of passing this milestone. This was not something to be taken lightly as if it turned out to be a botched experience it could possibly damage irreparably their nascent relationship. Why were guys so impatient about this?

"Gar you're embarrassing both of us. Now get up while you still have some dignity left."

Beast Boy now got down on both knees. "Rae, I'm begging you. Don't you love me?"

Raven felt the indignation swell in her chest. She couldn't believe that he just tried that old saw with her. Of course she loved him! What kind of question was that to ask? For a split second she debated whether or not to break up with him right at that moment. Instead, she chose to forgive him for the manipulative remark. Well, sort of … he would pay for it later.

"That's not going to work Gar, so stop it and get up! Just because I'm saying no now doesn't mean I won't say yes in the future. You're just going to have to be patient!" she said in a clearly annoyed voice. Beast Boy saw that he was finally beginning to make some headway. It was time to circle in for the kill!

"But I'm your boyfriend Rae, how can you say no to me?"

Now he did it and Raven was pissed that he would try to pull that on her. So you want to go nuclear, huh? Well, I can also play that game!

"Ok, how about we made a deal?" she replied in her deadpan monotone. Inside however, she was practically giggling and she knew that somewhere in Nevermore one of her less used emotions, Sly, was grinning ear to ear. He'll never go for this, not in a thousand years, she congratulated herself for her cunning.

"A-a-a deal?" he stammered back, unable to hide the concern in his voice. Raven could see that he was already beginning to panic over what she was going to demand in return.

"Yes Gar, a deal. You know what a deal is, right?"

He gulped and nodded his head.

"For you Rae, I'll do anything."

Raven gave him a smile that sent a shiver down his spine.

"The Jump City Opera season starts next week. Will you take me to all 6 operas? And dinner before each performance and I pick the restaurants. Oh, and you have to pay for everything. I'm your girlfriend now, so you can forget about going Dutch." She challenged him.

Beast Boy rose from the floor and stared at Raven. He blinked repeatedly.

"Well?" She asked him in a sweet voice. "Oh, and you'll also have to dress up nice. You can't go in your Doom Patrol costume."

"What do you mean by … nice?"

She narrowed her eyes slyly. The last time he saw that look was years ago, when she picked up the stank ball that Cyborg had blindsided him with and proceeded to give the tin man a whuppin' that he had still not forgotten.

"A tuxedo is considered proper attire."

"A tux? Oh come on Rae, you gotta be kidding…"

"That's my offer, take it or leave it."

Raven was feeling very smug at the moment. She managed to scare him off and didn't even have to use her powers to accomplish the feat. She was feeling in control and was enjoying it, that is, until he replied.

"Ok, it's worth it. Deal?"

Raven was unable to hide the look of horror on her face. He called her bluff and she was beginning to panic. It was too late to back out now, if she tried to do that he would have every reason to be angry with her, maybe even break up with her and go back to … no, she couldn't allow that to happen. And she knew that Terra would take this step with him in a heartbeat.

"OK, deal." She said with a clear tone of defeat in her voice.

Beast Boy kissed her to seal the deal. He looked jubilant and even danced a little victory jig.

"Rae, I promise you, you won't regret it!"

"I already am regretting it. How did I let you talk me into this?" She moaned, turning to the other 3 Titans who had been present the whole time.

Robin grinned at her. How dare he? Just because he and the princess had already taken that step so cavalierly gave him no right to judge her!

"Oh come on Raven." Robin interjected, "I think that you'll really like it. Just give it a chance."

"Friend Beast Boy is right, it is not even necessary to be the boyfriend and girlfriend to enjoy it. It is a healthy and pleasant experience."

Raven turned to Cyborg, and glared at him. He continued to grin happily.

"So what do you have to say about this, Victor?"

He pumped his right arm in triumph.

"Boo-yah!" He cheered.

"The Teen Titans are going to Disneyland!"


	7. Family and Solitude

**Family and Solitude**

by Sir Alwick

The modified T-ship was just beginning its decent as off in the distance the evening sun was doing the same. There was a chill in the air, a small hush of a breeze, and a thin sheet of snow blanketed the ground. The cockpit opened and for the first time in nearly two months Jericho breathed deep the fresh mountain air. Raven, his pilot, threw him a glance over her shoulder. "Home sweet home," she said. He gave her shoulder an appreciative squeeze and undid his harness. It was a short jump to the ground and he made the leap with no trouble.

"Thanks again for all your help against the Brotherhood," Raven called after him. She then hesitated and modestly added, "And also thanks for listening."

Jericho smiled. The look in the young girl's eyes as she spoke told him much. Timid, slightly embarrassed, it was clear she was not used to speaking as openly as she had. She was worried about his reaction. Poor girl. There was no need to thank him. He was glad she had. A wonderful girl such as her deserved such an opportunity. Nodding his head, he gave her a friendly wave, one that said she was welcome. She returned his nod and the cockpit sealed shut, the ship once again taking to the sky.

Watching Raven leave, Jericho felt a small wave of depression sweep over him. He had never found it difficult living alone. There had always been a rather large part of him that found it enjoyable, even necessary. Spending the past several weeks in the company of the Teen Titans and all the other heroes, however, listening to their stories, delighting at their antics; delving once again into the soup of human contact, he now found that particular part to be smaller, quieter... Maybe, he thought, gone for good.

It'll pass, he thought to himself. This feeling in his chest. It always does.

Home was a modest cottage perched at the top of a small incline less than a minute's walk from where he'd initially landed. From where he stood, Jericho could almost make it out in the distance. Short and square, it sat, humble, simple; the complete opposite of Titan Tower's structural opulence. Still, it suited his needs well, and he would not have had it any other way.

Shouldering his guitar, pulling his scarf tight, he started to walk. Looking at his feet, his mind wandering, he was about ten paces from the cottage when it dawned on him he was no longer alone. With an unassuming gaze he found the front door open and the bottom stoop occupied by a single dark figure. He slowed to a halt and the two became like statues in the snow.

The old man had changed very little in the time they'd been apart. His silver hair was short and properly combed, parted slightly to the right and resting delicately on his head. The hair on his chin, the same color as that on his head, was neatly trimmed, and the years past had gathered in the form of age lines on his cheeks and in the corners of his eyes. The only significant addition to the man's facade, the one Jericho had heard about but never been privy to actually seeing, was a simple black eye patch that hugged the right side of his face. One of the most striking things about the old man had always been his icy blue eyes, and somehow the fact that he now only had one heightened the effect, making the color seem deeper and more vivid.

"Hello, Joseph," said the old man. His voice was deep and smooth, almost nightmarishly serene in tone. "It's good to see you again."

A cold wind blew; the old man's long coat danced to its song, opening just enough to expose a form fitting black battle suit.

Standing there, staring into the old man's face, Jericho felt anger long buried begin forcing its way once again to the surface. Clenching his fists, he wondered only one thing: could he be fast enough? He did not wait to find out. Focusing on the old man's single, terrible eye, he conjured his powers. His eyes became an unnatural shade of green and his whole body tingled as he reached...contact? No, no contact. There was nothing. Instead of diving into the intruder's body, he found himself still in his own. He tried again, but still he found himself amid the cold winds of the mountain. Confusion pounded between his ears, and then he realized. The old man's eye, so much more vibrant than he remembered...A lens, some kind of filter no doubt designed specifically to keep him from jumping. It was the only explanation, he told himself.

Fear and panic nipped at Jericho's insides as his face betrayed him to his enemy. Again the same question resonated in his brain: Could he be fast enough? Spinning on his heels, gripping the neck of his guitar, he let the instrument fly, sent it spinning through the air like a projectile, like a saw blade. Unfortunately, effortlessly, the old man side stepped the impromptu weapon, letting it smash to pieces on the door frame behind him. Disappointed but not defeated, Jericho quickly changed tactics. Sprinting hard, he ran straight for the intruder. With a silent scream he took to the air and extended his leg to deliver a flying kick.

His speed was great; his form perfect.

He was taken down almost immediately.

With one hand, the old man blocked the oncoming strike. His palm alone was enough to halt Jericho's momentum completely, causing him to drop to the ground with all the ceremony of a bag of garbage being dropped into the can.

Jericho gasped loudly as he felt the hard winter ground strike him in his hip and shoulder. Curling up slightly, his face compressing from the pain shooting through his side, he pressed his palm into the dirt and snow. The old man did not move, remained standing at the foot of the porch steps.

"Finished?" the old man said. His voice was calm and collected, showing no signs of frustration or lost patience. This alone, angered Jericho more than anything else. Always so calm. How could he always be so calm?

Finished? Not even close.

With renewed vigor, Jericho rolled onto his back and swiftly leapt to his feet. Baring his teeth, sneering, he attacked, punching and kicking.

Again the old man showed his skill. With one hand, the other still nestled comfortably in his coat pocket, he parried and blocked all of Jericho's moves, his face never once betraying any kind of shock or surprise or urgency; never showing any anger or frustration; always calm, placid, unshaken.

Anger burned inside Jericho's body as he stepped up his attack. Balancing on one foot he delivered four swift kicks traveling up the right side of the old man's body. Everything was blocked. Spinning, switching feet, he executed a spinning back kick. He heard a loud smack, felt the tremor of impact.

His tenacity had forced the old man into using his other hand in order to counter his attack. It was perhaps a small victory, but one that served him no good.

Jericho felt immediate disorientation, felt the ground pulled from beneath him. The world spun and once again he felt the cold unforgiving ground met his back. He made a move to get up but very quickly felt the weight of the old man's foot on his chest. He was tired, unable to move, trapped beneath a far stronger opponent. It was over.

The seconds were agonizingly long as the old man studied him, kept him pinned firmly against the ground just enough so that there was pressure but no pain.

"Finished?" the old man said again.

Jericho closed his eyes and nodded.

"Good."

He felt the pressure in his chest intensify for a moment and then all at once vanish. Sitting up he found the old man heading up the porch steps.

"You can come and join me when you're ready to start acting civilized," he said, not bothering to turn around. He paused and added, "I made tea," before gently closing the door behind him, disappearing from sight.

For a few moments Jericho did nothing, only sat and stared at the spot where his father once stood, his mind reeling. All at once his thoughts turned to his fellow Titans. Contact them. Get them to come. Tell them who's here. When he went for his communicator, however, he was shocked to find it gone. He scanned the area around him, rubbed his hands against the snow covered ground. He thought the device had perhaps slipped out of his pocket during the skirmish. It hadn't. It was simply not here. Where could it have gone? His eyes fell on the cottage door and the answer could not have been more obvious.

A small fire was burning in the fireplace as Jericho entered. Opening the door wide he quickly found the old man sitting calmly at the table, two cups of tea in front of him, a kettle hanging over the fireplace. Alongside the teacups and looking so out of place amongst all the old world decor, a yellow Teen Titans communicator.

"Sit down, son," said the old man taking a small sip of tea. "Let's talk for a while."

Jericho threw a quick glance at the communicator sitting on the table as the old man helped himself to another cautious sip. Slowly, deliberately, he took his place at the table, sat himself directly across from the old man.

"I saw you eyeing this," the old man said abruptly, placing his hand gently over the communicator. "You can't hide anything from me, Joseph." He chuckled, set down his teacup. "You never could. Like the time you found that toad in the backyard, thought you could sneak it in the house by hiding it in the folds of your shirt. And you knew I knew. You knew, but you thought you could slip it past anyway. When I asked you, you just stuck your chin in the air and said, 'No poppa, I don't have anything. I swear.' Thought you were so slick even at five years old."

Jericho did not remember the story. It was simple and innocent enough to be true, and it was for those very same reasons that it could just as easily have been a lie.

"Anyway you've no need to worry," said the old man. "I promise unlike the toad you'll have this back before I leave." He pushed the second teacup closer. "Here, drink it while it's still hot."

Jericho eyed the old man suspiciously. Did he trust him? Of course not. But then if the old man had wanted him dead he would have done it, he'd have snapped his neck, caved in his chest when he had him pinned, left him to die in the snow. Sitting back in his seat, he fingered the handle of his cup, then using both hands brought it to his lips and took a sip. The liquid slipped effortlessly down his throat, warmed his insides. It was just tea.

"I have to admit I'm quite impressed. Middle of nowhere, valley hidden between the highest mountain peaks. It couldn't have been easy getting out here."

It wasn't. Not that Jericho would have admitted as much.

"And the way you fought...I admit that when I heard about your new gift I worried. I thought maybe you'd become too reliant on it. I'm so glad to see I was wrong. I wonder though... Just where did you learn those moves?"

Jericho remained motionless. Even if he could have answered he wouldn't have.

"Ah well, it doesn't matter," said the old man. "I suppose you're wondering why I'm here."

For a moment the old man appeared thoughtful, as if unsure of his words and wanting to chose them carefully. It was a rare moment of hesitation for the old man and one that did not go by unnoticed.

"Son," said the old man finally. "Not too long ago, something happened to me. I won't go into details, but suffice to say that for several months I was closer to death than I've ever been in my entire life. In that time something was taken from me, something precious that I...well...I simply couldn't live without. I wanted...needed it back at all costs."

Jericho smirked and gave the old man a look that said, "And you got it."

"Oh I got it back," said the old man. "But not without some, well, let's just call them 'unexpected results.' It still feels like only yesterday that it happened. I can only liken it to being a spectator to your own life, watching from a fixed perspective, never being able to act no matter how much I wanted to. The oldest memories flooded my mind in rapid succession, in crystal clear detail. Every moment of my life, no matter how insignificant, was put on display."

As he spoke Jericho noticed a change in the old man's demeanor. His iron willed stare, his calculating demeanor, his ever present calm, like a ball of yarn it all began to unravel. His voice took on an almost whimsical tone. His eyes lost focus, began to wander, as if the experiences he described were once again unfolding before him. Suddenly he seemed no longer the unshakeable super soldier he'd always been, but rather a lost soul doomed forever to drifting through a deep and endless nothing.

"It made me realize some things," the old man said.

It was then Jericho realized the old man's hand had slipped from its place over the communicator, now sat mere inches from his own, palm flat, fingers slightly curved, unsure whether or not to commit to the act.

"Joseph," said the old man. "We were never meant to be apart. I think you know that as well as I do."

He did.

"Despite all that's happened, your still my son."

He was.

"You're a bright and talented boy and you belong at my side."

He did. God help him, he did.

Jericho bowed his head. His lip quivered and all the tears of the past eight years suddenly filled his eyes.

It's always a painful choice, to choose between what the heart wants and what is right.

With a trembling hand, Jericho snaked his fingers into the folds of his scarf and pulled. The piece a fabric fell to the floor beside his chair. The scar on his throat, the one he'd carried with him for over half his life, the evidence of his father's betrayal, of his father's sins, it was there now, staring the old man in the face, giving him his answer.

"I see," said the old man. "And that's your final decision?"

Jericho nodded. His eyes remained down cast even as he heard the old man sigh and push himself away from the table, even as he heard him walk past and open the front door, even when he spoke to him that one final time.

"Did you think that I had blocked your powers?" asked the old man. His calm, passive tone already starting to return. "That I had protected myself against them? Somehow prevented you from doing your little mind jump? I didn't. I suppose I could have, but the truth is I wanted you to do it. I was hoping against hope that you would. But you didn't. You didn't because if you had you might have seen just how much what happened to you still pains me. You might have realized just how sorry am, just how much I regret my actions everyday that I breath. And I know, just like you know, Joseph, if you had seen these things...all the hate you have for me might have been lost. And that's something you just can't afford to happen."

The door closed. Jericho's solitude was officially returned to him and for that he was glad. He needed it now more than ever. To be alone, completely alone, at the moment it was all he really wanted.

...

The ship was coming in for a landing just as Slade arrived at the foot of the incline.

"You're alone." The pilot could not hide her disappointment as she watched the old man enter the ship, hop into the passenger seat.

"Yes," he said with a sigh. "I'm afraid your brother will not be joining us."

Bowing her head sadly, the girl tucked a long strand of silver hair behind her ear.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," said Slade, pulling on his mask. "I know you were looking forward to seeing him again. But he's made his choice. Just as I made mine. Just as you made yours. It's only right that we honor that."

"I know."

"It's time we got going. We've got work to do."

The girl raised her head and said, "Right."

As the ship again took to the air, the old man placed a loving hand against the girl's cheek. She smiled and moved herself against his touch.

"Don't worry, Rose," he said. "You still have me. You'll always have me."

**Not the end**


	8. Saturday Mornings with Mento

It had been an extremely long day. Not long in terms of villains fought, although they had been battling the Hive 5. No, the weariness came from something else. The 5 had been ransacking a local electronics store, looking for equipment for Gizmo. The fight was nothing special. The titans had paired off against various members of the 5 and the battle was joined. Neither group had garnered much success in overcoming the other.

Then it happened.

Robin's communicator buzzed. Generally, this did not happen during the middle of a battle. Everything came to a stop at the unusual interruption. Surprisingly, they all, the five included, stared at Robin, who momentarily froze.

"Well, aren't you going to get it?" Jinx asked. Robin stared at her. Shaking his head, he reached into his pocket for his communicator.

"Sorry about this, it'll only be a moment." He read the screen. The eyeholes of his mask opened wide. "TITANS, we've got to go! There's a major fire at the Perez High Rise. The police need help evacuating the residents."

"Man, wait a minute, what about the 5?" asked Cyborg.

"Lives take priority. Always," answered Robin. Turning to the Hive 5, he said, "We could use your help, innocent people are in danger."

"And why should we care, pitsniffer?" sneered Gizmo. At that, the five took off, albeit, with Jinx looking behind her, obviously conflicted.

"Come on Titans, let's go. We'll catch them later."

Arriving at the High Rise, a 30-story building ablaze, the titans jumped in to help in rescuing the residents. While they got most of the people out, some were not so lucky and a number were hospitalized, including one six year old boy, badly burned.

And so, the titans returned to the tower tired and quiet. It was always difficult when the people they were trying to protect were hurt or killed. Each of the titans went their own way to try to deal with the mental weariness. Robin went down to the gym. Cyborg remained in the garage. Raven floated off. Starfire went to work on her latest hobby.

And Beast Boy, he stared at the walls of his room for a few minutes, a bit lost as to what to do. He didn't really want to play any video games, nor watch television. _"Maybe I'll take a quick flight over the bay,"_ he thought. Making his way to the stairs, he reached the roof. The shape shifter looked around and was about to transform when he spotted a blue clad figure sitting on the edge, looking out over the bay.

"_Huh, what's Raven doing here? Thought she'd be meditating in her room." _Changing his mind from flying, he walked over to the edge and sat down next to her.

"How come you're out here and not meditating in your room?" Beast Boy asked.

Composed as always, Raven replied in her monotone, "After all the smoke from the fire, I wanted some fresh air." She paused, "Why are you up here?"

"I was going to take a quick flight."

"Don't let me hold you up." This was not said with any rancor or sarcasm. She could feel the tension in the changeling and knew he was just as affected as the rest of them. The grey sorceress truly wanted him to ease his mind by flying.

"In a minute, just want to hang here."

Both heroes were silent, watching the bay. From below, the faint strains of music were coming from an open window in the Common Room.

"Starfire's getting really good on that piano." Beast Boy reflected.

"About time."

Several weeks earlier, Robin, in an attempt to show Starfire a greater range of human culture, had taken her to a classical music concert. She was enthralled by the range of music, the sheer beauty of the melodies and majesty of the symphonies. That night, she decided she wanted to learn to play the piano and learn human music.

They went through 23 pianos before she was able to control her strength sufficiently.

The princess from the stars was one of those extremely fortunate ones who can play by ear. She had an instinctive ability to replicate sounds and notes. What she couldn't do was temper her muscles so that she didn't hit the keys so hard.

Beethoven's 5th was the worst. She went through eight pianos on that alone.

Da Da Da…CRASH.

"Friend Robin, I am afraid we need another piano. Why are earth instruments so delicate?"

Still, she stuck with it and began to master the ability to tap the keys with the proper force to replicate the notes. And so, she began to revel in the sounds of the masters, Beethoven, Brahms, Vivaldi, Mozart.

The two titans continued to listen to Starfire play as they sat on the roof. She finished her composition and began another. After a few moments, Beast Boy spoke.

"Hey, that's Tales from the Vienna Woods!"

Raven opened her eyes wide and slowly turned her head towards her teammate. "How in Azar's name do you KNOW that?" She asked.

Then, the mistress of magic took a closer look at her green companion. His head was down slightly, staring at the silvery waters of the bay below. His eyes had softened and his mouth had taken on a slight, wistful smile. Beast Boy's shoulders were relaxed and it was obvious that his mind had retreated into his memories.

In a soft voice, Beast Boy began to answer her, softly enough so she could hear while still having the melodies of the waltz evident in the background.

"When I was very young, living in Africa, the Doom Patrol found me and took me in. I had lived in the bush section of Kenya and in the slums of Nairobi, so I never had a chance to live life like an American, with TV and movies and cartoons."

"The Doom Patrol went on missions every once in a while, but we had a headquarters here in America. After they brought me here, we stayed for a few months. During the week, we trained and practiced. On Saturdays, the grown-ups slept in and I watched cartoons. I had never seen cartoons and I thought they were great. They were the best thing about America."

"Anyway, after about a month, I was watching my cartoons, eating cereal, when Mento came into the room. He'd gotten up early to work on something, I don't know what. He asked me what I was doing and I told him I was watching the best stuff on TV and why didn't he watch it with me. Remember, I was just a little kid at the time."

"So, Mento sat down. After five minutes, he got up and said, 'Beast Boy, this is junk! These aren't good cartoons. There's nothing here, no story, no jokes, no nothing.'"

"I was furious. I told him this was great stuff, better than anything that he watched. Rather than argue, Mento got up from the couch and went over to one of the cupboards near the TV. Most everything was locked, so I'd never had a chance to look in them. He pressed his security code and opened up the door. I found out later that everyone on the Patrol had a private locker where they kept their personal stuff, things they didn't want the others to mess with."

"So, Mento took out a DVD package from the locker. Now, remember, I had never SEEN most of this stuff where I was growing up, so when he took out a disc and put in the DVD player, I was wildly curious at what he was doing."

"He then told me, 'Here, watch this. It's far better than that junk you've been watching.' Well, I was pretty upset, figuring I was gonna watch some boring history show or something instead of my great cartoons. So I kind of sat back on the couch and sulked for a moment. Then the intro came on and Mento pressed play all on the remote."

"It was Bugs Bunny cartoons. I had never seen any of them, barely even heard of them, just as some American figure. Mento turned to leave when the first cartoon came on. 'Hey, this is Baseball Bugs; this is a great one, you gotta watch this.' And he sat down on the couch."

"I never saw anything so funny in my whole life."

"I was laughing almost from beginning to end. At one point, I looked at Mento to see if he was laughing. He wasn't, but he had a smile on his face, you know, the kind of smile adults get when they're really enjoying something."

"Anyway, the cartoon ended and Mento got up to leave again. The next cartoon started. He stopped again, saying 'Rabbit Seasoning, this is one of my favorites. It's Bugs & Daffy & Elmer.' And he sat down again. By the third cartoon, he didn't even get up off the couch."

"We spent the next hour and a half watching cartoons. When the DVD was finished, Mento put it back in the cabinet. By that time, everyone was up and moving, so it was time to start our day."

"The next Saturday, I went out to the living room and turned on the TV. The same cartoons were on. As I watched them, I realized they were nearly as funny as the Bugs Bunny cartoons. But I couldn't get into the locked cabinet and Mento was asleep. So I watched what was on. They were still good, but not AS good."

"The next Saturday, I started watching the regular cartoons again. After awhile, I realized that I really didn't want to watch them. I tried going to Mento's cupboard and seeing if I could break into it to get the Bugs Bunny disc, but I couldn't."

"Then, I did the bravest thing I've ever done. I went into Mento & Rita's bedroom and woke Mento up. 'Mento', I said, 'could you get me the Bugs Bunny disc from your closet?' He looked at me kind of strange, then, without a word, got up and put his bathrobe on."

"We went back to the living room and he unlocked his cabinet. Mento took a dvd out of the cupboard and put it in the player. Now, here I was, all ready to see Bugs Bunny again."

"But, it wasn't Bugs Bunny. It was Daffy Duck. Mento told me, 'Beast Boy, this is one of the GREATEST cartoons ever made, Duck Amuck, watch it.' "

"So I sat there and watched it. Rae, I swear, it was the greatest thing I've ever seen. The insanity of the cartoon was beyond belief. I laughed, I was hysterical. Every so often, I'd look at Mento. He had the biggest smile on his face. He was really getting into the cartoon. After the cartoon was over, he just sat there and watched the next one, and the next one."

"Well from that day on, we had a tradition. If we weren't on a mission, every Saturday, Mento would get up and put on a dvd. I'd get two bowls of cereal and we'd both eat cereal watching the Looney Toons. He had…gotta be two dozen discs. We watched Bugs, Daffy, Porky Pig, the Road Runner, Speedy Gonzales, Sylvester and Tweety, Foghorn Leghorn. God, we watched everything. Every Saturday, a new dvd. Then after about three, four months, we started over. They hadn't changed; they were still as funny as the first time."

"It was the best time of my life."

Beast Boy fell silent, a wistful smile on his face, thinking about the past.

Although loathe to break the spell, Raven couldn't help it. Her innate sense of curiosity came forth. "Beast Boy, that sounds fantastic. But…..when we met Mento, he wasn't anything like that. What made him change?"

The changeling was silent for a few moments, then he answered. "The Brain. Look, we'd fought all sorts of bad guys: Mr. 103, Animal Vegetable Mineral man, General Immortus. Then, the Brotherhood of Evil showed up. It was ok at first; then, General Immortus joined them and the Brain created his quantum generator. Mento read his mind. He saw what the Brain was up to, what evil he REALLY wanted. That he would kill millions at a thought. That was the first time he really yelled at me for something. I had rescued him and the others instead of destroying the generator."

"After that, Mento became obsessed with stopping the Brain. You know, kind of like Robin with Slade."

"The Saturday morning cartoons ended. From then on, he did nothing but work to find the Brotherhood of Evil, and we joined him."

"But I still missed those cartoons." Beast Boy fell silent. The two sat there for a few minutes, listing to the faint music being played below.

"That still doesn't explain how you knew the name of the music."

Beast Boy looked up, startled. "Oh, yeah, guess not. Well, one of the Bugs Bunny cartoons was called 'A Corny Concerto', Bugs and Porky Pig. Basic hunter, rabbit. Well, the whole thing was done without dialogue, to the movement of the music. At the very beginning, Elmer Fudd is a conductor and tells us that the music is 'Tales from the Vienna Woods.' The cartoon is great. It's a take-off of Fantasia, you know, the Disney movie."

"So," began Raven, "you learned classical music from cartoons!"

"Yep."

The two sat there while Starfire finished her composition below. After a moment, she began a new piece.

"Hey!" the changeling exclaimed, "That's the Blue Danube!"

Raven looked at her teammate, "Bugs Bunny?"

Giving a wry smile, the shape shifter replied, "Sort of. It's the second part of 'Corny Concerto'. It's got a Daffy Duck look-alike." He had a broad smile on his face as he listened.

After a moment, Raven interjected, "It had a nice tune."

"It's dance music." He paused. "You wanna dance?"

Her face resumed its severe countenance. "I don't dance."

"Come on Raven, this isn't like dance club stuff. This is the old fashioned proper dance. Waltzes and stuff." Before she could object, Beast Boy got up to his feet and lifted her to hers. "Now, hold out your right hand like this and put your left arm around my waist." She reluctantly did so. Then, Beast Boy leading, they began a slow waltz to the sound of the Blue Danube.

After a few moments, Beast Boy began to hum along with the music and Raven had relaxed enough to begin to enjoy herself. When the music slowed up, they moved a bit closer together but still in time with the melody. Even when it sped up, they continued to be close, only dancing a little quicker. Beast Boy continued to hum.

Eventually, Raven spoke up. "Beast Boy, you DO realize that Starfire has stopped playing?"

"Uh huh."

"Oh." With the slightest shrug of her shoulders, they resumed the dance. One dancing to the humming of the Blue Danube, the other, a faint smile on his face, dancing to memories of cartoons and Saturday mornings with Mento.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Here's the disclaimer. I do not own the Teen Titans, nor do I own any of the Looney Tunes. I put the disclaimer at the end, rather than give the plot away.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi there, still too old for this here. I generally am not on FanFiction much anymore, and write even less. Just don't have the time. Still, when I found out that Team Ganguro was back with a series of short vignettes, I wanted to contribute. This was originally supposed to be the final chapter of a longer story. Raven and BB on dates with others that turned into disasters; they finished up on the roof dancing. The name of the story was supposed to be 'Save the Last Dance for Me'. Just never could find the time or the inclination, but the ending was too good to pass up. So I shortened it and gave it a new beginning.

Anyway, I hope you like it. The Looney Toons are a passion of mine. My son isn't very interested, but I'm corrupting my grandson who LOVES them. Gotta get them while they're young.

The…the..the…That's all folks.


	9. The Other Guys

Dear readers, this little drabble is my swan song here in fan fiction. It was in progress when I announced my retirement, so I decided to finish it. I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for your support.

TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne

_**The Other Guys**_

"Bumblebee! Watch out!"

The winged Titan ducked, narrowly avoiding the barrage of laser fire. She rolled on the floor, firing her stingers repeatedly, taking out several robots in the process. She did miss two of them, but before they could fire at her a second time an arrow flew across the warehouse and exploded, deploying an electrified net, which smothered the two droids with its paralyzing effect. They shuddered and began to smoke as they collapsed.

"Thanks Speedy!" She shouted as leaped back onto her feet and rejoined the battle.

Even though her team was hopelessly outnumbered, Karen Beecher, AKA Bumblebee, smiled. The Titans East were fighting with the precision of a well oiled machine. During their early days they were often accused of not working like a team and were often compared to Robin's own Titans on the West Coast. Back then she had been a good sport, taking the criticism in stride. But that was then and this was now. And her team was as good as, if not better than, Robin's Titans.

"Aqualad! On your left!" She shouted as she took out a pair of robots that were about to ambush the Atlantean.

Karen was pleased. They were methodically and systematically taking down the robots, which were trying to steal a shipment of Xenothium from a Wayne Tech warehouse in Steele City. That wasn't going to happen, not on her watch

"Speedy! Cuidado! A tu derecha!" Mas shouted. Speedy ducked, avoiding the droid to his right while firing off several shots which decimated an entire platoon of the warrior robots.

But Karen was also displeased. Just the other day Speedy dropped the latest copy of the tabloid called "Superhero Weekly" on her lap. From the scowl on his face she knew that she wasn't going to like what she was about to read in the gossip rag. It would probably be another libelous article about her alleged romance with Cyborg. As if! Why did everyone think they were supposed to be a couple? Just because they're both black? She didn't have anything against Sparky, other than the fact that he was a chauvinist and a sore loser who couldn't deal with the fact that maybe, just maybe, a girl could kick his sorry titanium butt. And who would want a boyfriend made of metal anyway? She had to wonder how he coped with being on the same team as Starfire and Raven. Plus he was a blowhard who was always sucking up to Robin and he often took out his frustrations on Beast Boy, who in her opinion was the only desirable guy on the West Coast team. What did Starfire see in Robin anyway?

"Mas, a tu izquierda!" She shouted as she punched out a few droids with her bare hands.

What the tabloid said was something else, something that had been stuck in her craw for years and was as irritating as ever. And it was right on the front page. Superimposed over side by side photos of the Robin's and her teams was the headline that remained seared into her mind:

"_Will Titans East ever be as good as the originals?"_

She howled in fury as she recalled the damned headline, punching her fist all the way through another android, not feeling the pain in her anger. Sometimes she felt like Rodney Dangerfield, where was the damn respect? And Robin didn't make things any easier with his blasted cocky attitude. The guy really though he was God's gift to superherodom.

"Titans! Let's end this now!" She bellowed as she became airborne.

But what really irritated Karen was how the wretched tabloid compared her team, individual by individual, with Robin's teammates. Aqualad was compared to Beast Boy and was the only one considered "better" and that was only because of his good looks! Mas y Menos were compared to Starfire and Cyborg and all the tabloid had to say was that they were useless when separated.

Speedy was compared to Robin and was found wanting as well, due to his lack of leadership skills and his allegedly "subpar hand to hand combat skills". Was Robin paying these guys off?

But what bothered Karen most of all was being compared to Raven. How could they compare Raven, an introvert who needed to spend more time in the sunlight, with her? All Raven ever did in battle was to throw stuff at the bad guys, and more often than not she missed them! And to add insult to injury, the tabloids said that Bumblebee needed to lose her wings and dump her creepy image if she wanted to be a babe like Raven. Like Raven?

"Creepy? I'm creepy? What the hell are they talking about? Raven is the creepy Titan! Why do they think she's so damn hot? Oh yeah, I forgot, she's the 'Mysterious Sorceress' who wears the revealing leotard and I'm the icky bug!" Karen howled as she sent several more robots to the scrap heap with a flurry of lightning fast kicks. "And I could kick Raven's gray butt any day!"

Karen regained her composure when she felt a calming hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Speedy's smiling face.

"Bumblebee, it's OK, we won." He reassured her. Every single android was now a smoldering heap.

"Not until we capture him." She replied as she pointed at the now trapped mastermind who stared at his destroyed robots in sheer amazement.

"You'll never capture me, Bumblebee. Robin never could, and neither will you." He taunted her as he dashed for the exit.

Karen nodded at the twins, who shot towards the fleeing criminal. He was fast himself and his reputation as a fighter preceded him. He took a lightning fast swing at the twin speedsters, who dodged his haymaker and ran around him several times in a blur before running back to Karen. Seeing his opportunity, the villain turned to run … and fell flat on his face. To his dismay his ankles were shackled tightly together.

"Why you little brats!" He bellowed as Speedy shot a fat tipped arrow at him, which exploded, dropping a heavy net, ensuring that escape would be impossible.

Bumblebee cracked a huge grin while her teammates high fived each other. Victory was always so sweet, but especially now.

"You are so busted, Slade!" She crowed triumphantly. "You should know better than to go against the Teen Titans."

She turned to the still grinning Speedy.

"Stick that in your tail pipe Robin." She whispered to him.

"You aren't the Titans, you're just wannabes that got lucky!" Slade hissed back at her.

Karen frowned. She heard this line before, from that loser Control Freak. But to hear Slade say it, for some reason it cut deep.

Soon the police arrived along with the local press and media. The reporters milled around, taking pictures of Slade, who as he was being dragged into the armored paddy wagon vowed revenge and promised Karen that she would regret ever being born. A television reporter, a Barbie doll named Adele Anderson, stuck a microphone into Karen's face.

"Bumblebee, congratulations on capturing Slade."

Karen grinned from ear to ear. Revenge was so sweet.

"Thanks Adele."

"So tell us, Bumblebee, how do you think Robin's team would have done things differently?"

Karen's smile vanished.

"It's hard to say, Adele, you see, they've never been able to capture Slade, unlike my team. So all I can say is they would have blown it, like they always do when it comes to Slade."

The bimbo reporter merely smiled back.

"I see. So tell us, is anything happening between you and Cyborg?

Karen sighed and walked away, ignoring the annoying woman who kept asking her about her personal love life, which didn't exist. It was then that she realized it didn't matter how good they were. It didn't matter that they captured Slade. In everyone's eyes they would always be … the other guys.


	10. Kardiak

A/N: Without a doubt, the lamest villain in the entire Teen Titan TV show is Kardiac. How can anyone possibly come up with a back story for this villain that makes any sort of sense? I decided to give it a whirl, so here goes.

Kardiak By titanfan45

It was a great time to live in Jump City. The city was in the midst of an economic boom and plans were being carried out for the city's rebirth as the region's economic giant. A large part of those plans included a huge urban renewal project that would entail tearing down a huge portion of the old part of the city that had long been run down and decaying. In order to begin the renewal process the city began by using it's powers of imminent domain to acquire properties in the outlying areas surrounding the city. This was done to begin building the new schools, libraries, and other public buildings needed to replace the ones slated to be closed and torn down.

Of course this course of action always brings anger and despair to many whose homes and properties are taken by the local municipality. Although these individuals were paid fair market value for their property, it was simply the fact that they were given no choice in the matter that angered them most. It mattered not that they did not want to move, the city was taking their property and that was that.

One such property belonged to a very gifted inventor named John Craig. He had spent all of his 51 years living on a few acres of ground left to him by his grandparents. His great grandparents had homesteaded the place back in the 20's and the property had remained in his family's possession ever since. That is until the City had taken it from him by force through the court system where he had fought seizure of his property all the way to the highest court.

He was still angry two years later when the brand new David Slack Elementary School had opened it's doors. As the first few weeks went by, he found that he was finally able to begin healing from his loss simply by being in the area and taking comfort in remembering days long past. In his view he was causing no harm and should have been left to his thoughts and memories as he walked through the fresh grass surrounding the school. However, in these modern times, such a person made the school officials uncomfortable and their discomfort grew as some parents complained that there was a man stalking the grounds and demanded something be done about it.

Of course the school officials tried to be diplomatic and talked to Mr. Craig kindly and tried to see his point of view and although they were sympathetic to his plight, the children's safety and well being, not to mention the Parent's concerns took priority in the situation and he was politely asked not to return as he might anger some parents or frighten the students of the school.

Insulted and very angry Craig protested his treatment and asserted his innocence of any wrongdoing.

Be that as it may, he was told, he was to leave immediately and if he returned, the Police would be summoned to forcefully remove him from the school property if necessary. He left the school property in a huff vowing to himself that he would pay them back in full for treating him so badly.

Being a man of many talents, he went to his home workshop and locked himself behind closed doors and began working on the means to avenge himself against the school and it's administrators. After a solid week of nonstop work, he now stood back to look over the result of all of his hard work.

Grinning ear to ear, he couldn't help himself when he shouted, "Treat me like someone who would scare kids, will they? Ha! Wait until those brats get a load of you! You'll scare those kids so bad they will run home crying to their mom! Their parents will yank them out of that place so fast the school board won't know what hit them!"

As he stood there his line of sight was filled with a huge and wondrous human heart shaped machine that was able to hover and move in any direction or any combination thereof with fully articulating "arteries" with enough vacuum to be able to pull any size human into any of it's four chambers . All easily controlled by Craig by remote control. The purpose of this grand work of machinery and technology was simply to capture a few kids, scare them a bit and turn them lose to run crying to their parents. He reasoned that if he was able to successfully do this 10 or 15 times, no one in their right mind would send their child to the new school. In fact, in a best case scenario he figured he'd be able to repurchase his former family homestead for whatever price he would give for it.

During the following week after creating his masterpiece, Craig began to set the stage by placing ads declaring that "Kardiak is coming". He smiled as he placed each ad in a conspicuous place where it would be seen by many people on a day to day basis. To his dismay, no one seemed to pay any attention to the warnings as many assumed it was just another publicity stunt by one of the many people in the city trying to make a name for themselves.

That night while pacing his workshop Craig talked to his creation as though it were a living being. "Tomorrow, everyone in Jump City will know how you are Kardiak. Tomorrow we avenge my ill treatment by those pompous windbags who stole my home from me."

Before dawn the next morning the disgruntled former land owner had Kardiak well hidden in some shrubbery near the school's playground. From his previous strolls before his banishment from the property, Craig knew that recess was at 11:00 a.m for the First and Second Grades. He positioned himself off of the school property but easily close enough to see the playground's occupants and the shrubs where Kardiak was concealed.

Time seemed to drag by and during that time Craig had often come very close to backing out, realizing that he could very well end up in jail for what he was about to do. Each time he came to the conclusion that this course of action was the only chance, regardless of how small a chance, to regain ownership of the land on which he had grown up.

Finally, eleven o'clock came and with it came the young kids from the school filing out of the school building onto the playground. Kardiak's master waited until the kids had settled into what games they were playing. Deciding that the time had come, Craig pushed the buttons and levers causing Kardiak to push the bait onto the playground to be found by the children.

As the young boy played in the sandbox, he became aware of music being played. He looked up to see a music box of sorts with a crank turning by itself while the music played. As other kids saw and heard the music box they all came walking over to check it out. As they approached, a bunny suddenly popped out of the top much to their surprise and delight. The brown shirted boy smiled and said "A bunny!"

No sooner than those words were out of his mouth, the bunny was gone and in it's place were large metallic arms trying to get at the boy and his friends as a huge human heart shaped machine rose from the bushes and began pursuing the frightened kids. One of the mechanical arms began emitting a powerful vacuum and the vacuum was directed at the boy who had only moments before, been playing happily in the sandbox. The boy's feet were pulled out from under him and he began to be pulled toward the arm. Just as he was pulled completely into the arm, the appendage was neatly severed in two places by a well placed discs thrown by Robin of the just arrived Teen Titans. As the boy fell from Kardiak's grasp, he was scooped up by Starfire and flown to safety.

Feverishly working the controls, Craig landed Kardiak and activated a feature that was untested as yet. At it's master's bidding, Kardiak again fired up it's powerful vacuum and pulled it's severed pieces back to itself and the severed pieces were automatically reattached by high voltage electricity pulsed directly to the damaged areas thereby welding them back in place and ready for action.

In the ensuing fight between his creation and the Teen Titans, Craig found himself to be very busy and grateful for being concealed from the Titan's view. He had not counted on them showing up within seconds of his first attempt at briefly kidnapping a student from the school. If he were to be seen by the Titans, his attempts to get revenge would be over before they ever really started.

As Kardiac foiled the Titan's attempts to subdue it, Craig was feeling more alive than he had in a very long time. Just as he thought he might win the fight. The Titan known as Raven rose up in the air for the third time and said in her well known monotone; "This has gone on long enough."

Kardiak's inventor watched in stunned fascination as Raven chanted "Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!". Two black beams of power shot from her hands and she used this power to rip Kardiak to pieces. Craig knew at that point he should just surrender as the Titans were known to treat kindly anyone who surrendered willingly. As he was about to emerge from his hiding place. Raven had landed and got into the team's car and asked if they could go home now.

As the T-Car pealed out and squealed the tires again as the driver grabbed second gear, Craig emerged from his hiding place and wondered aloud, "What was that all about?" Quickly regaining his senses, he decided to ease on home before anyone noticed him.

That evening Craig watched the news knowing fully well that the Top Story would be about Kardiak. The attack by the heart shaped villain was described in detail and culminated in a phone interview with Robin of the Teen Titans.

"We've been on Alert since fliers appeared announcing that Kardiak was coming. Not knowing who or what Kardiak is or was, we had to be ready to help whenever this thing showed up. Looks like it was a good thing that we were ready" Stated the Titan leader.

The story ended with officials stating that the school was to be closed the following day so that Police and other agencies including the Titans could determine if the Heart shaped villain was a living thing or if it was mechanical, and if it was a machine, who built it and sent it to attack innocent school kids.

Fearing that the investigation would lead back to him, Craig waited until nightfall to make his way back to the school to see if he could recover Kardiak and destroy the physical evidence of the attack. As he drew near to the school, he realized that the scene was heavily guarded and that there was no way to get near Kardiak. He had two options available to him, he could just surrender now or maybe he could try to reactivate Kardiak via his remote control and hopefully get Kardiak removed to somewhere where it could be dismantled and never seen or heard from again.

The desperate Craig began to work the controls to Kardiak and was having no luck whatsoever. Even the self destruct refused to work. It was plain to see that Kardiak was broken beyond repair and it's creator now realized that he was finished. He simply stood and stared blankly ahead.

Not very far away, a recent newcomer to Jump City had just received a telephone call. "Jenkins, I know that you saw how the Titans handled huge flying human heart. I had hoped that Kardiak would have managed to hold the Titans attention longer than it did, so I want you to fix things so that it gets an encore performance."

Closing his phone, the aging, small and pale man began to make his way to the school grounds. As he neared it realized that he wasn't going to get near the huge heart's remains. He smiled to himself, it didn't matter a bit if the whole Police force was guarding the thing. He could do what he needed from a good safe distance.

Jenkins happened to notice a man just standing alone and staring ahead. This didn't merit much attention but what did was the fact that the man was holding a remote control in his hand. Jenkins approached the man and engaged him in conversation.

"Didn't go well huh?"

Craig was jarred from his trance by the question from a man he had never seen before and had no idea if he was with the Police or how long he had been standing there.

"Uh, I don't know what you're talking about!"

Jenkins grinned and placed his hand on Craig's shoulder and in as friendly a manner as he could muster, he tried to ease the concerns of the obviously very scared man in front of him.

"Don't you worry friend! I'll have you back in business in a jiffy!"

With that, Craig saw the man who had just spoken to him put on a black top hat of all things and suddenly in his place was a tall aqua skinned man in a tuxedo. This tuxedoed man smiled with great confidence and, as the stunned Craig watched in awe, Kardiaks remains vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Where did it go? What did you do with it?' he asked.

'Easy now, I just moved it to somewhere out of sight. Now just relax and close your eyes and I'll take us there."

Kardiak's master closed his eyes and from what he felt and heard, he would guess they were in a whirlwind. He knew that to be impossible but so was making Kardiak disappear. Craig decided to just keep his eyes closed because he decided that he didn't really want to know what was going on just then.

"Here we are!" the magician said in a voice filled with glee. Craig opened his eyes to find that he and the other man were in a concrete drainage pipe as were most of Kardiak's remains.

"You're Mumbo aren't you?" asked a very frightened and concerned Craig.

"Why yes I am, thank you so much for recognizing me. No doubt you would never have expected to meet me in person!" Stated the strange looking man in the tuxedo.

"Uh, yeah. So, what are you going to do and why?"

"Let's just say that a Gentleman to whom I am in debt has taken an interest in the way that you were distracting a certain group of Super Heroes and has asked me to fix things so that you can distract them some more." Came the reply.

Kardiak's creator hung his head and muttered, "I don't think that is such a great idea. That Raven girl didn't even break a sweat when she tore this thing to pieces. I think she was in a hurry to do something else and she wasted no time in destroying Kardiak."

"Listen Kid, my benefactor thought you were doing great. So, let's make this easy on both of us. I'll fix up Kardiak and you distract the Titans some more, that way you get to do whatever it was that you set out to do and I make my benefactor a happy man."

With that, the magician uttered his now well known catch phrase, "Mumbo Jumbo!" Kardiak lit up and began to rise up. The pieces that were torn from it in Raven's attack were brought back to it and rejoined. In mere moments Kardiak had been restored and was now ready to take up it's creator's mission once more.

Craig turned to thank the aqua skinned man but he was nowhere to be found. Deciding to change tactics, Kardiak's inventor had it to move toward the home of a prominent doctor in Jump City whose daughter just happened to be the little girl the TV station had interviewed on David Slack Elementary School's opening day. If he could turn the girl's family against the school, it would be a good start at turning public opinion against the school itself and might hasten it's abandonment or at least it's closure. It's closure would leave Craig free to roam it's grounds whenever he wanted.

"This might work out after all." Craig said as he hid himself at a safe distance so as not to be seen. He dad Kardiak break into the second floor of the home and just as Kardiak came out of the house, the Teen Titans showed up.

""Not them again! Where's Raven? I don't see her, maybe I can win this yet if she doesn't show up this time." He mumbled as he feverishly worked the controls enabling Kardiak to fight off the Titans. From the start it looked as though Kardiak was holding it's own against the four Titans when Craig noticed a disturbance in the air. That disturbance turned out to be a white clad Raven. The words that came from her mouth scared Kardiak's creator out of his wits.

"This time when I break you, stay broken!" With that, Raven chanted some words and black energy came from her and over powered any control Craig had over Kardiak causing it to land on the ground motionless.

It soon became apparent to all that Raven was not in control of herself or her powers as the black energy began to completely envelop Kardiak and it's victim. Craig meant no lasting harm to the girl and tried desperately to cause Kardiak to release her to no avail. It looked as though Craig would directly be responsible for the girl's demise and it horrified him. Just as he was about to run out and try to physically remove the child from Kardiak, Robin jumped onto Kardiak and began trying to shatter the semi-transparent case holding the child captive. It looked as though Robin's efforts would end up being too little too late when the green changeling morphed into a Ram and knocked Raven aside thus stopping her uncontrolled attack upon Kardiak.

The would be kidnapper was about to come out and surrender when he heard Beast Boy loudly ask Raven what was wrong with her, only to have to watch as the gray Titan seemed to melt into the ground. With this, the Titans returned the girl to her parents and handed control of the scene over to the JCPD.

As he watched from a distance, he saw the Police and their Detectives pouring over Kardiak looking for and gathering evidence. Craig slid the controller into his jacket and was about to leave when a familiar voice got his attention. There stood the man who had earlier magically repaired Kardiak.

"Want me to fix it again kid?" Smirked the small pale man.

"No, I'm done. I almost caused that child to get hurt."

"Aw c'mon, no guts, no glory I always say!"

Craig reached into his jacket causing the pale man to smile. "That's the spirit Kid!"

Craig shook his head no and pushed a button on the controller.

Now frowning, the older man asked "What did you do?"

Smiling for the first time since he had originally activated Kardiak, Craig said simply, "Self destruct button."

As the Police watched in dismay, Kardiak simply began to melt completely beyond recognition including any of the many small pieces torn away in the battle. This left no evidence whatsoever that the Police could use to figure out who created Kardiak or why they did so.

John Craig turned to go home and as he did so he heard the older man say, "Your call, kid. Want me to take you home?"

Craig turned back to him and said , "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get away from here"

The older man put on his top hat and then the now tall aqua skinned man asked, "Where to Kid?"

Mere moments after giving the tuxedo wearing magician his address, Craig and his strange companion appearred in his home workshop. Craig walked over to his workbench and picked up the plans he had drawn to create Kardiak. He waded them up and pitched them in the trash.

Mumbo retrieved the plans from the waste can and placed them in his pocket. As he took his leave, Mumbo said to Craig, "Hope you don't mind my taking the plans. My benefactor might be able to use them for something. So long Kid!"

With that, there was a puff of smoke and Craig's visitor was gone. With the plans gone, there was nothing to ever tie Craig to the Kardiak incident. He was relieved that Kardiak was gone for good, never realizing that just a few years into the future Kardiak would once again rise to fight against all of Titans across the world, but that is a story for another time.

The next day John Craig put his home up for sale and drove away from Jump City and made plans to start over in a new town where he could put the loss of his family's homestead behind him and just maybe find a way to forgive himself for his actions over the past several days.

A/N: I'd like to thank TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne and Sir Alwick for their help with getting this posted. I also would like to thank The Odd One95 and Felynx Tiger for pointing out a few things that I had wrong in this chapter. I now have those things fixed. Thanks to you all.

Please review!


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